Abstract
We investigated the formation and structure of cobalt suicide (CoSi2) on Si1-yCy. (0≤y ≤0.81%) layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si (001). The incorporation of C in the Si lattice causes the following phenomena during silicidation: (i) the formation of CoSi2 is delayed in temperature scale, as compared to pure Si; (ii) epitaxial CoSi2 grains are formed at T≥600 °C; (iii) a two sublayer structure of CoSi2 is observed, where the upper sublayer contains a very small amount of C and has a homogeneous microstructure, while the lower sublayer, which has a higher C concentration, contains randomly oriented CoSi2 nanocrystallites; (iv) spatial inhomogeneity results in significant variation (within ±40%) in the CoSi2 layer thickness; (v) no strain relaxation in the Si1-yCy layer during silicidation is detected up to 700 °C; and (vi) the distribution of carbon and boron in the semiconductor during silicidation is not changed significantly. The two latter findings show the potential of CoSi2 on Si1-yCy for device application despite the mentioned inhomogeneity in CoSi2 microstructure.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3306-3312 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Applied Physics |
Volume | 87 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2000 |
Externally published | Yes |