Malherbe, Johan B.Selyshchev, PavelOdutemowo, Opeyemi ShakirahTheron, C.C. (Chris)Njoroge, Eric GitauLanga, Dolly FransHlatshwayo, Thulani Thokozani2018-01-162017-09Malherbe, J.B., Selyshchev, P.A., Odutemowo, O.S. et al. 2017, 'Diffusion of a mono-energetic implanted species with a Gaussian profile', Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, vol. 406, part B, pp. 708-713.0168-583X (print)1872-9584 (online)10.1016/j.nimb.2017.04.067http://hdl.handle.net/2263/63565The implanted profile in an isotropic substrate of a mono-energetic ion species is usually very near a Gaussian profile. An exact solution to the time-dependent Fick diffusion equation of an initially Gaussian profile is presented. This solution is a general one also covering the diffusion within the two limiting cases usually considered in solutions to the Fick equation, viz. a perfect sink at the surface and a perfectly reflecting surface plane at the surface. An analysis of the solutions for these two cases shows that at small diffusion times the main effect of annealing is a nearly symmetric broadening of the implanted profile. At the origin and for longer diffusion times the profile deviates significantly from Gaussian. A review is also given of past attempts to extract diffusion coefficients by fitting experimental data to approximate equations based on simplified initial profiles.en© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. A definitive version was subsequently published in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms, vol. 406, part B, pp. 708-713, 2017. doi : 10.1016/j.nimb.2017.04.067.DopingDiffusionFick diffusion equationGaussian profileImplanted profileGlassy carbonPostprint Article