Nanoscale Strain Evolution and Grain Boundary-Mediated Defect Sink Behavior in Irradiated SiC: Insights from N-PED and DFT

Dataset Description The dataset consists of two sets of ion‑implanted 4H‑SiC samples prepared under different implantation conditions. Box P1 contains samples implanted with helium at fluences of 1,2,4, and 5\times 10^{16}\ \mathrm{He/cm^{\mathnormal{2}}}. In addition, two samples were co‑implanted with hydrogen and helium at a fluence of 1\times 10^{16}\ \mathrm{ions/cm^{\mathnormal{2}}}, one annealed at 800 °C and the other at 1000 °C. Box P2 includes eight samples implanted with hydrogen at room temperature, with fluences ranging from 0.5\times 10^{16} to 6\times 10^{16}\ \mathrm{H/cm^{\mathnormal{2}}}. Experimental details:All samples were characterized using Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry in channeling mode (RBS‑C) at the Tandetron MC 4130 accelerator, Nuclear Physics Institute, Řež. A 2.0 MeV He{}^+ beam was employed, and scattered ions were detected with an ORTEC ULTRA‑series detector (50 mm² active area, 300 µm depletion layer) positioned at a 170° backscattering angle in Cornell geometry. The energy calibration was set to 2.33813 keV/channel with an offset of 91.015 keV, and the detector resolution was 25 keV. Results:Typical RBS‑C spectra for samples in Box P1 and Box P2 are presented in Figures 1 and 2, respectively, showing characteristic Si and C edges. When the incident beam aligns with major crystallographic directions, the backscattered yield decreases due to channeling, providing information on lattice disorder and defect density. For quantitative comparison, the normalized yield \chi _z was calculated in the region of interest (~230–320 channels), corresponding to implanted ions. \chi _z is defined as the ratio of the RBS‑C yield of the sample to that of a fully disordered (amorphous) reference. Tables 1 and 2 summarize the normalized yields for Boxes P1 and P2, demonstrating that increasing ion implantation fluence leads to higher \chi _z, indicating enhanced lattice disorder.