RBS channeling spectra measured at the 2MV Van-de-Graaff accelerator with 1.7 MeV He ions. The measured silicon carbide samples were previously irradiated with Si and C ions at different ion energies and different temperatures at 3 MV and 6 MV tandem accelerators. The backscattered He ions were detected by a silicon surface barrier detector at an angle of 170◦.

For each sample, random spectra were recorded by tilting a sample at angles θ and ϕ of −4◦ off the normal to the surface and consequently changing one of them within the range (−4◦, +4◦) with a step of 0.2◦, while the other one was fixed at −4◦ or +4◦, respectively. Such random measurements also allow a high-precision alignment of the sample along the ion beam by the indication of the main crystallographic planes. The sample orientation for the measurements in channeling mode is determined by the values of the theta and phi angles corresponding to the intersection of the crystallographic planes. RBS/C analysis allows the evaluation of disorder after irradiation. The crystalline quality of an as-grown sample was evaluated as the ratio of the backscattered yield of an aligned pristine spectrum to that of the random spectrum.

The results show that annealing and repair effects are important for the prediction of radiation damage in SiC.