ALBERT

Notes: Four different Co-silicide compounds were obtained by solid-state reaction at 800 °C in thin bilayers of amorphous silicon and cobalt evaporated on SiO2 substrates. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (2 MeV 4He+), x-ray diffraction, and Auger electron spectroscopy were used to obtain information about the chemical and crystallographic characteristics of the samples. Results indicate that in each sample only one of the following phases is present: CoSi2, CoSi, Co2Si, and Co4Si, the latter identified on the basis of the stoichiometric ratio only. Electrical resistivity and Hall effect measurements on van der Pauw structures were carried out as a function of the temperature in the intervals: 10–1000 and 10–300 K, respectively. At room temperature the resistivity ranges from the value 19 μΩ cm for CoSi2 to the value 142 μΩ cm for CoSi. There are some analogies with the case of a classical metal, but remarkable differences are also detectable in the resistivity versus temperature behavior and in the order of magnitude of the resistivity and of the Hall coefficient. In particular, at T〉300 K the resistivity of the CoSi2 samples linearly depends on temperature and is well fitted by the classical Bloch–Grüneisen expression. The other silicides show, in the same temperature range, a deviation from linearity (d2ρ/dT2〈0), while a quasi saturation of the resistivity can be extrapolated at higher temperatures. This saturation phenomenon can be described by the parallel of an ideal conductivity and of a saturation conductivity, and associated with the electron mean free path approaching interatomic distances. A similar model already has been put forth to describe the saturation of the resistivity in systems, such as A-15 superconducting compounds, characterized by a high value of the room-temperature resistivity. The transport parameters, deduced in a free electron framework from the resistivity curves of the Co silicides, show values which are consistent with the proposed model. Hall coefficient versus temperature behavior indicates that between 10 and 300 K a multicarrier effect is present. Conduction is predominantly n type in CoSi and p type in the other silicides.

Notes: Current effects in heavy arsenic implants into silicon protected by a SiO2 layer were studied by Rutherford backscattering, spectrometry, differential sheet resistivity and Hall mobility measurements, Auger electron spectrometry, and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that oxygen atoms recoiled into silicon by the impinging arsenic ions affect the solid-phase epitaxial regrowth during the low-temperature ((approximately-equal-to)500 °C) postimplant anneal. A complete stopping in the regrowth was noticed in samples implanted at 1016 cm−2 at low current and annealed at 500 °C. These results show that the procedure suggested to obtain high-quality implanted layers, i.e., (1) formation of an amorphous layer with implants at low temperature and (2) solid-phase epitaxy at about 500 °C, is not suitable for implants through a SiO2 layer.

Notes: Electrical resistivity in the temperature range of 2–1100 K and Hall-effect measurements from 10 to 300 K of CoSi2, MoSi2, TaSi2, TiSi2, and WSi2 polycrystalline thin films were studied. Structure, composition, and impurities in these films were investigated by a combination of techniques of Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and Auger electron spectroscopy. These silicides are metallic, yet there is a remarkable difference in their residual resistivity values and in their temperature dependence of the intrinsic resistivities. For CoSi2, MoSi2, and TiSi2, the phonon contribution to the resistivity was found to be linear in temperature above 300 K. At high temperatures, while a negative deviation from the linearity followed by a quasisaturation was observed for TaSi2, the resistivity data of WSi2 showed a positive deviation from linearity. It is unique that the residual resistivity, ρ(2 K), of the WSi2 films is quite high, yet the temperature dependent part, i.e., ρ(293 K) − ρ(2 K), is the smallest among the five silicides investigated. This suggests that the room-temperature resistivity of WSi2 can be greatly reduced by improving the quality of the film, and we have achieved this by using rapid thermal annealing.