Penetration Range (or Range), R:  The Range is defined as the total distance traveled by the charged ion of the dopant before it comes to rest in an amorphous target. Factors affecting R include: (a) Nuclear stopping power results from the collisions with the target atoms, and  (b) Electronic stopping power results from the interaction of the ion with the bound and free electrons of the target atoms. Each of the stopping powers is defined as the energy of the ion at any point along its path until it comes to rest.

Projected range, Rp, and Straggle:  Rp is the projection of R along the direction of the incident ion. Since the nature of implantation is statistical, the projected range, Rp, is characterized by its mean value, i.e. the location of the maximum concentration, and its standard deviation called the straggle, Rp. Moreover, there is a lateral spread termed Rt related to the doping distribution near the edge of the mask.

Channeling: Is the situation when the direction of implanted ions coincides with a direction in the crystalline lattice allowing the ions to pass through the lattice unimpeded. To avoid channeling, the Si wafer (of the 100-cut) is tilted by 7 to 10 degrees from the incoming beam of ions.

As the energetic ion enters the Si, it first transfers energy to the lattice relatively slowly. As the ion slows down, the rate of energy transfer increases until the ion comes to rest.

The electron clouds of the Si-atoms also contribute to the slowing down of the implanted ion. The electron clouds of the Si atoms screen the repulsive forces between the nuclei of the implanted atoms and the Si-atoms resulting in a constant rate of energy loss. This retardation process is called the approximate nuclear stopping power. The energy loss rate of this process is about 10-100 eV per Å, and the value depends on the ion-target combination.

The implanted ions with energies between 50 and 500 keV have suficient energy to excite and ionize the Si-atoms.

The projected range, Rp, is calculated from both the nuclear and electronic stopping powers. Ions with high energy are retarded by the electronic stopping power, while ions with low energies are retarded by the nuclear collisions, or the nuclear stopping power.

The range, R, is proportional to the square root of the energy of the implanted ion, while at lower energies the range is linearly proportional to the energy.

Damage is directly proportional to the amount of kinetic energy transferred to the lattice at a given depth.

The implantation energies are sufficient to create an amorphous layer; this layer is restored to a (sufficiently) crystalline state by annealing at a high temperature. The annealing process also activates the dopant, that is, restores electrons and holes (carriers) mobilities and lifetimes. (Recall that the energy band model for semiconducting materials is built on a perfect crysalline state, and dopants occupy the substitutional sites.) These two responses to thermal activation occur in parallel.

A threshold fluence is defined as that dose (units are in cm-1)at which a wholly first amorphous layer first appears. That fluence depends on the nature of the ion (the lighter the ion the higher the required fluence), and the temperature of the target during implantation (the higher the temperature the higher the threshold fluence). The product of the threshold fluence by the nuclear stopping power gives the critical energy density. The threshold damage density (TDD) indicates the existence of a crystalline-amorphous interface; the TDD is an energy density term, and is reported with the ion-energy, dose, and substrate temperature during implantation.

Annealing implanted Si is extensively researched.