Measurement of implantation profiles in garnet by transmission electron microscopy

Thin films of (SmYGdTm)
3
Ga
0.4
Fe
4.6
O
12
have been produced by liquid phase epitaxy on {111} substrates of gadolinium-gallium garnet, masked with parallel stripes of photoresist, and implanted with ions of deuterium at 88 keV and doses ranging from 3.5 to 5.5 × 10
¹⁶
D+
2
/cm
²
and/or with ions of oxygen at 100 keV and doses ranging from 0.95 to 8.6 × 10
¹⁴
O+/cm
²
. These films are subsequently examined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), incorporating a special cross-section technique, in order to reveal depth penetration (range) in unmasked regions and lateral diffuseness at mask edges for both D+
2
and O+, thus providing a direct quantitative measure of implantation profiles. Shape and evolution of these profiles are determined as a function of implantation dose and compared with predicted stress-induced magnetic anisotropy within the implanted zone.