Phase Formation and Kinetic Processes in Silicide Growth.

Abstract

ABSTRACTTwenty years of research have now been devoted to investigating reaction products obtained by annealing metal-layer/silicon structures. A wide variety of cases have been analyzsed and a considerable amount of data has been produced. Despite the vast amount of information available, several aspects concerning phase formation and kinetic processes are not yet well established. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the mechanisms of phase formation and to show the importance of kinetic factors in the appearance of various compounds. Results will be shown for a single metal layer deposited on silicon, for bilayers. and for alloys. Depending upon the starting structure, metal-rich or silicon-rich silicides can be formed. Moreover, by modifying the boundary conditions, it is possible to change the growth kinetics of the silicide phase that forms.