Electron-beam radial distribution analysis of irradiation-induced amorphous SiC

Advanced electron microscopy techniques have been employed to examine atomistic structures of ion-beam-induced amorphous silicon carbide (SiC). Single crystals of 4H-SiC were irradiated at a cryogenic temperature (120 K) with 300 keV Xe ions to a fluence of 10(15) cm(-2). A continuous amorphous layer formed on the topmost layer of the SiC substrate was characterized by energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy in combination with imaging plate techniques. Atomic pair-distribution functions obtained by a quantitative analysis of energy-filtered electron diffraction patterns revealed that amorphous SiC networks contain heteronuclear Si-C bonds, as well as homonuclear Si-Si and C-C bonds, within the first coordination shell. The effects of inelastically-scattered electrons on atomic pair-distribution functions were discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.