Ion beam synthesis of buried Zn-VI quantum dots in SiO₂ - grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering studies

Grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering was used to study ion-beam synthesized Zn-VI compound-semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), buried in a SiO₂ matrix. The ZnTe and ZnS QDs were formed by successive ion implantation of constituent atoms, at high ion doses and subsequent annealing at different temperatures in the 1070-1370 K range. In Zn and Te implanted SiO₂, small nano-crystals were formed at higher annealing-temperatures, a bimodal size distribution of nano-particles was observed for both materials, which could be explained by an interplay of Ostwald ripening and enhanced diffusion in the irradiation-damaged region.