Mechanism of interaction between a directed beam of negative particles from a gas-discharge plasma and the melted nickel surface

It is found that irradiation of the melted nickel surface in a nickel-silicon system by 6-keV negative particles and electrons from a gas-discharge plasma generates a gradient of atomic-size voids (“vacancies”) in a subsurface layer, which is normal to the surface of the semiconductor. Analytical and experimental data for the vacancy formation mechanism are presented, and the mechanism of how the vacancies produce a directed beam of silicon toward the surface of the melt is considered. It is shown that the diffusion of semiconductor atoms leads to the extraction of impurity species acting as recombination centers. This greatly improves the breakdown voltage of semiconducting diodes.