skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Growth of CoSi{sub 2} on Si(001) by reactive deposition epitaxy

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1774263· OSTI ID:20668212
; ; ; ; ;  [1]
  1. Materials Science Department and the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, 104 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)

CaF{sub 2}-structure CoSi{sub 2} layers were formed on Si(001) by reactive deposition epitaxy (RDE) and compared with CoSi{sub 2} layers obtained by conventional solid phase growth (SPG). In both sets of experiments, Co was deposited by ultrahigh-vacuum magnetron sputtering and CoSi{sub 2} formed at 600 deg. C. However, in the case of RDE, CoSi{sub 2} formation occurred during Co deposition while for SPG, Co was deposited at 25 deg. C and silicidation took place during subsequent annealing. X-ray diffraction pole figures and transmission electron microscopy results demonstrate that RDE CoSi{sub 2} layers are epitaxial with a cube-on-cube relationship (001){sub CoSi{sub 2}} parallel (001){sub Si} and [100]{sub CoSi{sub 2}} parallel[100]{sub Si}. In contrast, SPG films are polycrystalline with an average grain size of {approx_equal}1000 A and a mixed 111/002/022/112 orientation. We attribute the striking difference to rapid Co diffusion into the Si(001) substrate during RDE for which the high Co/Si reactivity gives rise to a flux-limited reaction resulting in the direct formation of the disilicide phase. In contrast, sequential nucleation and transformation among increasingly Si-rich phases--from orthorhombic Co{sub 2}Si to cubic CoSi to CoSi{sub 2}--during SPG results in polycrystalline layers with a complex texture.

OSTI ID:
20668212
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 97, Issue 4; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1774263; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English