GROWTH AND CHARACTERIZATION OF EPITAXIAL Si/CoSi2 AND Si/CoSi2/Si HETEROSTRUCTURES

Abstract

AbstractThin (<200Å), epitaxial CoSi2 films have been grown on (111) Siwafers in a UHV system using a variety of growth techniques including solid phase epitaxy (SPE), reactive deposition epitaxy (RDE), and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). SEN and TEN studies reveal significant variations in the epitaxial silicide surface morphology as a function of the sillciqd formation method. Pinhole densities are generally greater than 107 cm-2, although some reduction can be achieved by utilizing proper growth techniques. Si epilayers were deposited over the CoSi2 films inthe temperature range from 550ºC to 800ºC, and the reesuulttinng structures have been characterized using SEM, cross—sectional TEN, and ion channeling measurements. These measurements show that the Si epitaxial quality increases with growth temperature, although the average Si surface roughness and the CoSi2 pinhole density also increase as the growth temperature is raised.