Silicides and germanides are compounds consisting of a metal and silicon or germanium. In the microelectronics industry, silicides are the material of choice for contacting silicon based devices (over the years, CoSi2, C54-TiSi2, and NiSi have been adopted), while germanides are considered as a top candidate for contacting future germanium based electronics. Since also strain engineering through the use of Si1–xGex in the source/drain/gate regions of MOSFET devices is an important technique for improving device characteristics in modern Si-based microelectronics industry, a profound understanding of the formation of silicide/germanide contacts to silicon and germanium is of utmost importance. The crystallographic texture of these films, which is defined as the statistical distribution of the orientation of the grains in the film, has been the subject of scientific studies since the 1970s. Different types of texture like epitaxy, axiotaxy, fiber, or combinations thereof have been observed in such films. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that film texture can have a profound influence on the formation and stability of silicide/germanide contacts, as it controls the type and orientation of grain boundaries (affecting diffusion and agglomeration) and the interface energy (affecting nucleation during the solid-state reaction). Furthermore, the texture also has an impact on the electrical characteristics of the contact, as the orientation and size of individual grains influences functional properties such as contact resistance and sheet resistance and will induce local variations in strain and Schottky barrier height.
De Schutter, Bob, et al. "Texture in thin film silicides and germanides: A review." Applied Physics Reviews, vol. 3, no. 3, Aug. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4960122
De Schutter, Bob, De Keyser, K., Lavoie, C., & Detavernier, C. (2016). Texture in thin film silicides and germanides: A review. Applied Physics Reviews, 3(3). https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4960122
De Schutter, Bob, De Keyser, K., Lavoie, C., et al., "Texture in thin film silicides and germanides: A review," Applied Physics Reviews 3, no. 3 (2016), https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4960122
@article{osti_1354580,
author = {De Schutter, Bob and De Keyser, K. and Lavoie, C. and Detavernier, C.},
title = {Texture in thin film silicides and germanides: A review},
annote = {Silicides and germanides are compounds consisting of a metal and silicon or germanium. In the microelectronics industry, silicides are the material of choice for contacting silicon based devices (over the years, CoSi2, C54-TiSi2, and NiSi have been adopted), while germanides are considered as a top candidate for contacting future germanium based electronics. Since also strain engineering through the use of Si1–xGex in the source/drain/gate regions of MOSFET devices is an important technique for improving device characteristics in modern Si-based microelectronics industry, a profound understanding of the formation of silicide/germanide contacts to silicon and germanium is of utmost importance. The crystallographic texture of these films, which is defined as the statistical distribution of the orientation of the grains in the film, has been the subject of scientific studies since the 1970s. Different types of texture like epitaxy, axiotaxy, fiber, or combinations thereof have been observed in such films. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that film texture can have a profound influence on the formation and stability of silicide/germanide contacts, as it controls the type and orientation of grain boundaries (affecting diffusion and agglomeration) and the interface energy (affecting nucleation during the solid-state reaction). Furthermore, the texture also has an impact on the electrical characteristics of the contact, as the orientation and size of individual grains influences functional properties such as contact resistance and sheet resistance and will induce local variations in strain and Schottky barrier height.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4960122},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1354580},
journal = {Applied Physics Reviews},
issn = {ISSN 1931-9401},
number = {3},
volume = {3},
place = {United States},
publisher = {American Institute of Physics (AIP)},
year = {2016},
month = {08}}
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A. Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Vol. 171, Issue 944, p. 27-38https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.1939.0051