ABSTRACT
Ion beam technology is widely used in various thin-film synthesis and thin-film surface modification. The use of ion beams for processing has many advantages. Various parameters of the ion beam, including the choice of species, its charge state, flux, energy, direction, and divergence, can all be easily quantified and controlled. An energetic ion beam can be used to introduce dopants into the surface layers of solids, a process referred to as ion implantation. Because ion implantation involves a beam of many ions interacting with a solid containing many atoms, the process can induce lattice damage in the target material. Chemical and physical properties of most materials can be altered by the addition of impurities or dopants. Changes in properties due to them are inherently different from changes due to radiation damage. Ion implantation is a nonequilibrium process, where the doping atoms get driven into the solid by a violent use of their excess kinetic energy. In this way, compounds that are unattainable by more conventional methods may be formed.
