SURFACE RADIATION-DAMAGE

The bombardment of solid surfaces with ions having energy below or close to the damage threshold can lead to the deposition of layers of crystalline material or to the formation of interesting surface compound layers. The structure of the grown materials is dependent on the extent to which the energy deposited by the incident ions enables structural rearrangement to occur without causing atomic displacements. Radiation damage very close to the surface can be highly stable and is sensitive to factors such as angle of incidence and the presence of contaminants as well as the energy of the incident ions and the mass ratio of the collision partners. In the present paper, the state of knowledge of the buildup and annealing of near-surface radiation damage due to ion bombardment is reviewed with particular reference to the potential of ion beams for the growth of crystalline films at low temperatures.