The initial growth stages of Ni on clean B-doped Si(111) were studied at room temperature using high energy Ion channeling and Monte Carlo computer simulations of the Ni/Si interface. The results suggest that the first monolayer of Ni atoms diffuse to reaction sites in the fourth layer of the Si(111) substrate where nickel suicide growth begins. Further Ni deposition (up to ~ 3 ML) leads to the growth of NiSi2 which is thought to be a diffusion barrier that terminates further formation of NiSi2 at room temperature.

The CoSi2 thin film growth by Co/Si solid state interaction was investigated. The electrical and crystal properties of the films formed on (111) and (100) Si substrates were characterized after a rapid thermal annealing. A strong preferential CoSi2 (111) orientation grain growth was observed on (111)Si substrate. The formed CoSi2 film was highly conductive with a resistivity of 15.5 µΩ · cm.

The formation and application of Si/CoSi2/Si double heterostructures are comprehensively studied. A high-quality double heterostructure is formed by two-step molecular beam epitaxy of the Si over layer, i.e., low -temperature growth followed by high-temperature growth. The interfaces between CoSi2 and Si observed by cross-sectional transmission microscopy are atomically abrupt and smooth. In addition, a new fine patterning method of CoSi2 films using self-aligned and selective growth is developed. Finally, permeable base transistors (PBT) with high performance (gm=50 mS /mm) are fabricated using these new techniques.

Epitaxial IrSi3 films have been grown on Si (111) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at temperatures ranging from 630 to 800 °C and by solid phase epitaxy (SPE) at 500 °C. Good surface morphology was observed for IrSi3 layers grown by MBE at temperatures below 680 °C, and an increasing tendency to form islands is noted in samples grown at higher temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis reveals that the IrSi3 layers grow epitaxially on Si(111) with three epitaxial modes depending on the growth conditions. For IrSi3 layers grown by MBE at 630 °C, two epitaxial modes were observed with ~ 50% area coverage for each mode. Single mode epitaxial growth was achieved at a higher MBE growth temperature, but with island formation in the IrSi3 layer. A template technique was used with MBE to improve the IrSi3 surface morphology at higher growth temperatures. Furthermore, single-crystal IrSi3 was grown on Si(111) at 500 °C by SPE, with annealing performed in-situ in a TEM chamber.

We have used high resolution grazing incidence x-ray scattering (GIXS) to study the in-plane and out-of-plane structure of epitaxial YSi2-x films grown on Si (111), with thicknesses ranging from 85Å to 510Å. Our results indicate that the films are strained, and that film strain increases as a function of thickness, with lattice parameters varying from a = 3.846Å/c = 4.142Å for the 85Å film to a = 3.877Å/c = 4.121Å for the 510Å film. We correlate these results with an increase in pinhole areal coverage as a function of thickness. In addition, our measurements show no evidence for the existence of ordered silicon vacancies in the films.

We describe the epitaxial growth of TbSi2. In this study, terbium metal is evaporated onto (111) silicon and annealed to form terbium suicide, where the pressure during all procedures is maintained below 5×10-10 Torn The interdiffusion of terbium with silicon occurs at room temperature as determined by in-situ Auger electron spectroscopy. Low energy electron diffraction shows a sharp pattern of the hexagonal suicide after an 850°C anneal. Rutherford backscattering analysis indicates single-crystal growth with a channeling minimum yield of 7–8% for 120Å thick suicide films annealed to 800–900°C. These metal reacted films have pinholes with an average size of less than 0.5 µm and a fault structure along (220) silicon. Electrical measurements show metallic conduction with a room temperature resistivity of 110 µΩ-cm and evidence of magnetic ordering at 38K.

The self-aligned-silicide (SALICIDE) process was developed to overcome the conductivity and contact resistance limitations associated with very shallow junctions. However this process is fundamentally limited by the roughening and the consumption of the silicon substrate that occurs during its selective reaction with metal. As junctions scale to smaller dimensions, me silicon consumption must also be scaled so mat the suicide does not consume the junction. The use of argon gas atmospheres during titanium suicide formation leads to more silicon consumption (75%) than can be explained simply on the basis of suicide formation. Lateral loss of silicon into the metal surrounding patterns is believed to be the mechanism responsible for this excess silicon consumption. More surprisingly, nitrogen annealing, which suppresses lateral suicide formation, also leads to an anomalously large (50%) silicon consumption. Suicides formed on amorphous substrates during the concurrent formation of junctions and suicides result in even more silicon consumption.

The island formation of TiSi2 and the surface morphologies and interfaces of TiSi2 on Si have been examined and related to the surface and the interface energies. Ti (200Å and 400Å) films were deposited on clean, reconstructed Si(100) and Si(111) substrates at room temperature and also at high substrate temperatures (500°C~800°C). The TiSi2 formation process is monitored with in-situ LEED and AES and the surface morphologies and interfaces are examined with ex-situ SEM and TEM. For annealing to temperatures such that the C54 phase forms, the results indicate island formation with clean reconstructed substrate regions between the islands. The TiSi2 islands show different morphology on the (100) and (111) oriented substrates. The mechanism of TiSi2 island formation is described in terms of a liquid-liquid model, and the surface and interface energies for the TiSi2 island are determined from contact angle measurements.

Solid phase epitaxy in the amorphous(a)-Ge/Pd2Si/Si system has been investigated in the temperature range of 600 to 750 °C. The top Ge started to migrate into the suicide layer at 600 °C. After longer time annealing the mixed Ge released from the suicide matrix and formed a laterally uniform epitaxial Ge70Si30 layer on the [111] Si substrate. A minimum yield of 0.1 was achieved for a 800 Å-thick Ge70Ge30 layer.

An ideal metal/III-V semiconductor contact should be made by stable and epitaxial metallic films. In principle, such a contact may be obtained by the solid state ΐnterdiffusion of a metal film with a III-V SC substrate. We studied the solid state interdiffusions in the Ni/GaAs and Ni/AlAs systems. Our starting point was the experimental determination of the Ni-Ga-As and Ni-Al-As ternary phase diagrams. The main steps of the interaction appear to be different in the two systems. During the Ni/GaAs one, three successive steps as a function of the annealing temperature are observed : first a mixture of a Ga-rich ternary phase (C phase) + NiAs, then C phase + NiAs + NiGa and at last the two binaries NiAs + NiGa where the reaction stops. In the case of the Ni/AlAs reactions, the three steps successively correspond to a mixture of NiAl + an As-rich ternary phase then NiAl + another As-rich ternary phase + NiAs and finally NiAl + NiAs. NiAs and NiAl are the key compounds in Ni/GaAs and Ni/AlAs reactions respectively and all the reaction compounds are either textured (pseudocubic NiAs and ternaries) or epitaxial (cubic binaries NiGa and NiAl).

A series of ErAs/GaAs and GaAs/ErAs/GaAs epilayers have been grown on (100) GaAs substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. Misfit dislocations at the ErAs/GaAs interface have been analyzed using the weak-beam technique of transmission electron microscopy. The microstructure of GaAs/ErAs/GaAs layers have been characterized using conventional and high-resolution electron microscopy. Twinning inside the upper GaAs layer is the major defect. Although the desired epitactic (100) GaAs on (100) ErAs does dominate, small grains of GaAs with (111) or {122} orientations have been observed at the GaAs/ErAs heterojunction.

Successful growth of (001 )ErP0.6As0.4 single crystal film on (001) GaAs has been demonstrated. The epitaxial metallic layers reproducibly showed lattice mismatch below 5 10-4. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of a stable, epitaxial and lattice-matched metal/compound semiconductor heterostructure. The ErP0.6As0.4/n-GaAs diodes yielded excellent I-V characteristics with an ideality factor of 1.1 and barrier height of 0.88 eV. For a 240 A-thick film, metallic behavior was observed with resistivities of 25 and 86 µΩcm at 1.5 K and room temperature, respectively. As the other Er compounds ErP, ErAs, ErSb and ErSi2, ErP0.6As0.4 presents an abrupt drop in resistivity in the vicinity of the liquid helium temperature, due to a paramagnetic to antiferromagnetic phase transition.

The suicide formation and thermal stability of the Ni/Si/GaAs structures have been investigated. Vacuum deposited Ni and Si onto a (100) GaAs were annealed at temperatures between 500 °C and 650 °C. In the case that the relative amount of Ni and Si was unity, a stoichiometric NiSi was formed and silicide/GaAs interface was quite stable. The Stoichiometric NiSi did not decompose into NiSi2 and Ni at a temperature of 650 °C. When Ni was in excess in amount for the formation of stoichiometric nickel suicides, free Ni atoms were generated, resulting in unstable interfaces.

Epitaxial SiGe/Si heterostructures have been formed by wet oxidation from amorphous SiGe films deposited on Si(100). Amorphous SixGe1-x films were deposited at a vacuum of 10-7 Torr. The presence of an initial native oxide precluded solid phase epitaxy under standard annealing conditions, but epitaxy could be achieved by the use of wet oxidation. The samples were oxidized at 900°C for various times and examined in reflection electron diffraction, ellipsometry, cross-sectional and plan-view transmission electron diffraction, and electron spin resonance. The formation of the epitaxial layer and oxide has been examined, and an epitaxial growth model is suggested.

Solid phase epitaxy was studied in the GexSi1-x/[100] Si system in the composition range of 4% to 10% Ge. For strained samples regrowth rates decreased with increasing Ge concentrations, with an activation energy of 2.8 and 3.0 eV for the Ge4Si96 and Ge8Si92 alloys respectively. In contrast, the rates of the strain-relaxed samples increased compared with that of pure Si. The minimum yield of fully regrown samples with Ge concentrations lower than 8% recovered to that of the as-deposited samples. However, the minimum yield of a 3500 Å-thick Ge10Si90 alloy increased to 12 % after recrystallization.

Single strained layer structures of up to 30 nm of Si1-xGex. on (100) Si and capped with 30-36 nm of Si have been amorphized by implantation with 120 keV As . The amorphized region, extending to a depth of 130 nm, has been regrown by solid phase epitaxy (SPE) at 600°C. Characterization of the regrown structure by Rutherford backscattering/channeling techniques and transmission electron microscopy indicates that for x < 0.18 the SPE process results in the recovery of strain, while for x > 0.18 there is increasing strain relaxation and a deterioration of crystal quality.

A supersonic free jet operated in continuous wave and pulsed mode was used to grow Ge films on (100) GaAs and (100) Si substrates. The Ge-bearing source molecule digermane (Ge2H6) was seeded (at 5% concentration) in a helium carrier gas. A free jet expansion of this gas mixture was directed toward the heated substrate surface, where Ge film growth took place by surface-induced thermal decomposition of the ballistically impinging digermane molecules. The thickness distribution across the substrate surface was fitted by a cosmJ distribution. The values of m spanned the range 6–35. The upper limit on growth resulting from “background” gas scattered out of the jet was found to be less than 10% of the Ge film thickness for growth on (100) GaAs, and around 25% for growth on (100) Si.

We report on the successful growth of GalnP on GaAs substrate by Atomic Layer Epitaxy using organometallic and hydride sources. Growth was achieved by sequential exposure of the substrate to TMGa, PH3, TEIn and PH3. X-ray diffraction showed compositional lattice-matching optimally at 550°C with arbitrary choices of the mole fractions of the precursors in the gas phase. TEM also confirmed the highest ordering at this growth temperature on (100) substrates. Uniformity was excellent using Atomic Layer Epitaxy. Growth on (111)A GaAs substrates produced no evidence of the ordered CuPt phase present on (100) substrates.

The MBE growth of Si doped GaAs on slightly misoriented (111)A substrates was examined. The conduction types and the carrier concentrations were greatly affected by the degree of substrate misorientation. In the growth on an exactly (111)A oriented substrate, substantially all Si atoms acted as acceptors. With increase of the degree of misorientation and/or with increase of the flux ratio (JAs4/JGa), the number of donor-site Si atoms increased, that is, the hole concentration first decreased by autocompensation of Si and then the conductivity reversed from p-type to n-type. The photoluminescence of highly compensated (111)A films showed characteristics of donor-acceptor pair recombination. A doping mechanism including preferential decomposition of As4 molecules at the steps was proposed.

Defects such as dislocations and interfaces play a crucial role in the performance of heterostracture devices. The full potential of GaAs on Si heterostructures can only be realized by controlling the defect density. The reduction of threading dislocations by the use of strained layer superlattices has been studied in these heterostructures. Several superlattice structures have been used to reduce the density of threading dislocations in the GaAs epilayer. The use of strained layer superlattices in conjunction with rapid thermal annealing was most effective in reducing threading dislocation density. Transmission electron microscopy has been used to study the dislocation density reduction and the interaction of threading dislocations with the strained layers. A model has been developed based on energy considerations to determine the critical thickness required for the bending of threading dislocations.