Enhancement of irradiation-induced defect production in Si nanowires

We performed classical molecular dynamics simulations of defect production in small-diameter hexagonal Si nanowires under Ar ion irradiation. Using irradiation energies of 30 eV to 10 keV, we find that for low energies the defect production in the nanowires may be enhanced by as much as a factor of 3 in comparison to bulk Si due to the large surface-to-volume ratio of the systems. Conversely, at higher energies the increased transmission of ions causes a significant decrease in defect production. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3627234]