Sub-nano Layers of Li, Be, and Al on the Si(100) Surface: Electronic Structure and Silicide Formation

Within the framework of the density functional theory and the pseudopotential method,the electronic structure calculations of the“metal-Si(100)”systems with Li,Be and Al as metal coverings of one to four monolayers(ML)thickness,were carried out.Calculations showed that band gaps of 1.02 eV,0.98 eV and 0.5 eV,respectively,appear in the densities of electronic states when the thickness of Li,Be and Al coverings is one ML.These gaps disappear with increasing thickness of the metal layers:first in the Li-Si system(for two ML),then in the Al-Si system(for three ML)and then in the Be-Si system(for four ML).This behavior of the band gap can be explained by the passivation of the substrate surface states and the peculiarities of the electronic structure of the adsorbed metals.In common the results can be interpreted as describing the possibility of the formation of a two-dimensional silicide with semiconducting properties in Li-Si(100),Be-Si(100)and Al-Si(100)systems.

Friction and wear behaviors of Nb-Ti-Si-Cr based ultrahigh temperature alloy and its Zr-Y jointly modified silicide coatings

Zr-Y jointly modified silicide coatings were prepared on an Nb-Ti-Si-Cr based ultrahigh temperature alloy by pack cementation process. The wear behaviors of both the base alloy and coatings were comparatively studied at room temperature and 800 ℃ using SiC balls as the counterpart. The Zr-Y jointly modified silicide coating is mainly composed of a thick （Nb,X）Si2 outer layer and a thin （Ti,Nb）5Si4 inner layer. The coatings possess much higher microhardness than the base alloy. The wear rates of both the base alloy and coatings increase with increasing the sliding loads. However, the coatings have much lower wear rates than the base alloy under the same sliding conditions. The coatings have superior anti-friction property, and can provide effective protection for the base alloy at both room temperature and 800 ℃ in air.

The modulation of Schottky barrier height of NiSi/n-Si Schottky diodes by silicide as diffusion source technique

This paper reports that the Schottky barrier height modulation of NiSi/n-Si is experimentally investigated by adopting a novel silicide-as-diffusion-source technique, which avoids the damage to the NiSi/Si interface induced from the conventional dopant segregation method. In addition, the impact of post-BF2 implantation after silicidation on the surface morphology of Ni silicides is also illustrated. The thermal stability of Ni silicides can be improved by silicide- as-diffusion-source technique. Besides, the electron Schottky barrier height is successfully modulated by 0.11 eV at a boron dose of 1015 cm-2 in comparison with the non-implanted samples. The change of barrier height is not attributed to the phase change of silicide films but due to the boron pile-up at the interface of NiSi and Si substrate which causes the upward bending of conducting band. The results demonstrate the feasibility of novel silicide-as-diffusion-source technique for the fabrication of Schottky source/drain Si MOS devices.

Dynamic recrystallization and silicide precipitation behavior of titanium matrix composites under different strains

In order to elucidate the microstructure evolution and silicide precipitation behavior during high-temperature deformation,TiB reinforced titanium matrix composites were subjected to isothermal hot compression at 950℃,strain rate of 0.05 s^(−1) and employing different strains of 0.04,0.40,0.70 and 1.00.The results show that with the increase of strain,a decrease in the content,dynamic recrystallization of theαphase and the vertical distribution of TiB along the compression axis lead to stress stability.Meantime,continuous dynamic recrystallization reduces the orientation difference of the primaryαphase,which weakens the texture strength of the matrix.The recrystallization mechanisms are strain-induced grain boundary migration and particle stimulated nucleation by TiB.The silicide of Ti_(6)Si_(3) is mainly distributed at the interface of TiB andαphase.The precipitation of silicide is affected by element diffusion,and TiB whisker accelerates the precipitation behavior of silicide by hindering the movement of dislocations and providing nucleation particles.

Micro-Mechanism of Disintegration of RE-Silicide Alloy Containing Phosphorus

The microstructure of the RE silicide alloy was studied by SEM. The feature of the phase and the distribution of Ca, P, Al were analyzed, especially the distribution of micro-cracks and its composition were determined. The result demonstrates that only a few phosphides contribute to the spontaneous crumbling of the RE silicide alloy by reacting with water and forming oxide or phosphorus oxide. The phosphorus content is not the critical factor of disintegration in the alloy studied.

FORMATION OF MANGANESE SILICIDE THIN FILMS BY SOLID PHASE REACTION

Manganese silicide MnSi_(2-x) thin films have been prepared on n-type siliconsubstrates through solid phase reaction. The heterostructures were analyzed by X-ray diffraction,Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared transmittance spectroscopy andthe four-point probe technique. The results show that two manganese silicides have been formedsequentially via the reaction of thin layer Mn with Si substrate at different irradiation annealingstages, i.e., MnSi at 450 deg C and MnSi_(1.73) at 550 deg C. MnSi_(1.73) phase exhibits preferredgrowth after irradiation with infrared. In situ four-point probe measurements of sheet resistanceduring infrared irradiation annealing show that nucleation of MnSi and phase transformation of MnSito MaSi_(1.73) occur at 410 deg C and 530 deg C, respectively; the MnSi phase shows metallicbehavior, while MnSi_(1.73) exhibits semiconducting behavior. Characteristic phonon bands ofMnSi_(2-x) silicides, which can be used for phase identification along with conventional XRDtechniques, have been observed by FTIR spectroscopy.

Influence of silicide on fracture behavior of a fully lamellar Ti-46Al-0.5W-0.5Si alloy

The fracture behavior of fully lamellar binary γ-TiAI alloys is extremely anisotropic with respect to the lamellar orientation. For the fully lamellar Ti-46Al-0.5W-0.5Si alloy, the existence of silicide clusters plays a critical role on the fracture behavior. In the present study, tensile test and three point bending test were performed at room temperature with the loading axis parallel and perpendicular to the lamellar orientation, respectively. To investigate the influence of silicide clusters on the initiation and propagation of cracks, the fracture surface and the cracks adjacent to the fracture zone of the specimens have been analyzed. Results show that the fracture process is related to the morphology and distribution of the silicide clusters. Crack preferentially initiates at and propagates along the interface of silicide and a2/7 lamellar with the loading axis perpendicular to the length direction of silicide. While the silicide can prevent the propagation of cracks from running across with the crack growth direction perpendicular to the length direction of silicide.

Oxidation and interdiffusion behavior of a germanium-modified silicide coating on an Nb–Si-based alloy

To investigate the interdiffusion behavior of Ge-modified silicide coatings on an Nb–Si-based alloy substrate,the coating was oxidized at 1250°C for 5,10,20,50,or 100 h.The interfacial diffusion between the(Nb,X)(Si,Ge)_2(X = Ti,Cr,Hf) coating and the Nb–Si based alloy was also examined.The transitional layer is composed of(Ti,Nb)_5(Si,Ge)_4 and a small amount of(Nb,X)_5(Si,Ge)_3.With increasing oxidation time,the thickness of the transitional layer increases because of the diffusion of Si from the outer layer to the substrate,which obeys a parabolic rate law.The parabolic growth rate constant of the transitional layer under oxidation conditions is 2.018 μm×h^(-1/2).Moreover,the interdiffusion coefficients of Si in the transitional layer were determined from the interdiffusion fluxes calculated directly from experimental concentration profiles.

The fabrication of nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-silicon carbide

This paper reports that the nickel silicide ohmic contacts to n-type 6H-SiC have been fabricated. Transfer length method test patterns with NiSi/SiC and NiSi2/SiC structure axe formed on N-wells created by N^＋ ion implantation into Si-faced p-type 6H-SiC epilayer respectively. NiSi and NiSi2 films are prepared by annealing the Ni and Si films separately deposited. A two-step annealing technology is performed for decreasing of oxidation problems occurred during high temperature processes. The specific contact resistance Pc of NiSi contact to n-type 6H-SiC as low as 1.78× 10^-6Ωcm^2 is achieved after a two-step annealing at 350 ℃for 20 min and 950℃ for 3 min in N2. And 3.84×10-6Ωcm^2 for NiSi2 contact is achieved. The result for sheet resistance Rsh of the N＋ implanted layers is about 1210Ω/□. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the formation of nickel silicide phases at the metal/n-SiC interface after thermal annealing. The surfaces of the nickel silicide after thermal annealing are analysed by scanning electron microscope.

Structural, elastic, and electronic properties of recently discovered ternary silicide superconductor Li_2IrSi_3: An ab-initio study

The structural, elastic, and electronic properties of the very recently discovered ternary silicide superconductor, Li2IrSi3, are calculated using an ab-initio technique. We adopt the plane-wave pseudopotential approach within the frame- work of the first-principles density functional theory （DFT） implemented by the CASTEP code. The calculated structural parameters show reasonable agreement with the experimental results. The elastic moduli of this interesting material are calculated for the first time. The electronic band structure and electronic energy density of states indicate the strong cova- lent Ir-Si and Si-Si bonding, which leads to the formation of the rigid structure of Li2IrSi3. Strong covalency gives rise to a high Debye temperature in this system. We discuss the theoretical results in detail in this paper.

Selective Heating of Transition Metal Usings Hydrogen Plasma and Its Application to Formation of Nickel Silicide Electrodes for Silicon Ultralarge-Scale Integration Devices

We developed an apparatus for producing high-density hydrogen plasma. The atomic hydrogen density was 3.1 × 1021 m?3 at a pressure of 30 Pa, a microwave power of 1000 W, and a hydrogen gas flow rate of 10 sccm. We confirmed that the temperatures of transition-metal films increased to above 800。C within 5 s when they were exposed to hydrogen plasma formed using the apparatus. We applied this phenomenon to the selective heat treatment of nickel films deposited on silicon wafers and formed nickel silicide electrodes. We found that this heat phenomenon automatically stopped after the nickel slicidation reaction finished. To utilize this method, we can perform the nickel silicidation process without heating the other areas such as channel regions and improve the reliability of silicon ultralarge-scale integration devices.

Effect of Annealing Temperature on the Formation of Silicides and the Surface Morphologies of PtSi Films

The effect of annealing temperature on the formation of the PtSi phase. distribution of silicides and the surface morphologies of silicides films is investigated by XPS. AFM. It is shown that the phase sequences of the films change from Pt-Pt2Si-PtSi-Si to Pt+Pt2Si+PtSi-PtSi-Si or Pt+Pt2Si+PtSi-PtSi-st with an increase of annealing temperature and the reason for the formation of mixed layers is discussed.

Schottky barrier MOSFET structure with silicide source/drain on buried metal

In this paper, we propose a novel Schottky barrier MOSFET structure, in which the silicide source/drain is designed on the buried metal （SSDOM）. The source/drain region consists of two layers of silicide materials. Two Schottky barriers are formed between the silicide layers and the silicon channel. In the device design, the top barrier is lower and the bottom is higher. The lower top contact barrier is to provide higher on-state current, and the higher bottom contact barrier to reduce the off-state current. To achieve this, ErSi is proposed for the top silicide and CoSi2 for the bottom in the n-channel ease. The 50 nm n-channel SSDOM is thus simulated to analyse the performance of the SSDOM device. In the simulations, the top contact barrier is 0.2e V （for ErSi） and the bottom barrier is 0.6 eV （for CoSi2）. Compared with the corresponding conventional Schottky barrier MOSFET structures （CSB）, the high on-state current of the SSDOM is maintained, and the off-state current is efficiently reduced. Thus, the high drive ability （1.2 mA/μm at Vds = 1 V, Vgs = 2 V） and the high Ion/Imin ratio （10^6） are both achieved by applying the SSDOM structure.

COMPETING REACTIONS OF EXISTING Ni SILICIDE AND Ni OR Si INDUCED BY THERMAL ANNEALING AND MeV Si ION BEAM MIXING

The competing reactions between existing Ni silicides surrounded by Si and Ni were investigated by thermal annealing and MeV Si ion beam mixing. With high energy irradiation, the energy deposition at both interfaces, Ni/Ni silicide and Ni silicide/Si, is equal. Two MeV He^- RBS and TEM were used to obtain the reacted layer composition and epitaxial orientation, respectively. Also glancing angle Co K_a. X-ray diffraction was utilized to identify phase formation. The main results indicate that the existing silicides preferentially react with Ni layer, and that there are pronounced differences of Ni silicide phase transition between thermal annealing and MeV Si ion beam mixing, even though the mixing was performed in radiation enhanced diffusion regime. The results can be explained in term of the heat of silicide formation and surface energy change.

Self-Aligned Titanium Silicide NMOS and 12-Bit Multiplier

Self-aligned Titanium Silicide (Salicide), Light-Doped Drain (LDD) technology was studied. Results show that, this technology suppresses effectivily short-channel effects. The sheet resistance of active region decreases by four times. The sheet resistance of polysilicon gate region decreases by one order of magnitute. Using this technology, the speed of the 3 μm NMOS 12-bits multiplier increases by two times relative to conventional one.

Suppressing Effects of Ag Wetting Layer on Surface Conduction of Er Silicide/Si(001) Nanocontacts

Current-voltage electrical characteristics of Er silicide/Si（001） nanocontacts are measured in situ in a scanning tunneling microscopy system. Introduced as a new technique to suppress surface leakage conduction on Si（001）,a silver wetting layer is evaporated onto the substrate surface kept at room temperature with Er Si2 nanoislands already existing. The effects of the silver layer on the current-voltage characteristics of nanocontacts are discussed.Our experimental results reveal that the silver layer at coverage of 0.4–0.7 monolayer can suppress effectively the current contribution from the surface conduction path. After the surface leakage path of nanocontacts is obstructed, the ideality factor and the Schottky barrier height are determined using the thermionic emission theory, about 2 and 0.5 eV, respectively. The approach adopted here could shed light on the intrinsic transport properties of metal-semiconductor nanocontacts.

SPUTTERING BEHAVIOUR OF IRON SILICIDES UNDER LOWENERGY Ar^+ ION BOMBARDMENT

Surface compositions of Fe3Si, FeSi and FeSi2 under 0.1 to 5ke V Ar+ bombaniment have been investigated by using AES method, and the results indicate that the sudece compositions depend strongly on ion enerpy and sample bulk compositions. While in FeSi and FeSi2 only Fe enrichment in the selvage has been observed, in Fe3Si it is Si enriched when the ion enerpy is higher than 31OeV Competition between preferential sputtering and radiation enhanced segmpation is quoted to eoplain this phenomenon.

Formation and Oxidation Resistance of Silicide Coatings for Mo and Mo-Based Alloys

The forming process of silicide coatings on pure Mo and Mo-base alloys, obtained by the gas- phase deposition method. has been studied by examining the microstructure of coatings and the relationship between coating thickness and process parameters. It was shown that the growth of coatings was diffusion-controlled, the diffusion of silicon to be coated into Mo or Mo-base alloys was mainly responsible for the formation of silicide. The relationship between initial silicide thickness and oxidation resistance was also investigated, and the equation of service life of the coatings at high temperature in air is presented.

Electrochemical Synthesis of Chromium Silicides from Molten Salts

Electrochemical synthesis of chromium silicides from NaCl-KCl-K2SiF6-CrF3 system has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and DC （direct current） electrolysis at 850℃. The process of Cr and Si joint electroreduction in chloride-fluoride melt proceeds in one stage in a kinetic mode. The cathode product was analyzed using XRD （X-ray diffraction） method. XRD data have confirmed that CraSi is the dominant phase. SEM （scanning electron microscopy） results have shown that Cr3Si powder samples consist of 50-150 lain particles and that tungsten silicide was formed at the surface of tungsten cathode after chrome-free system electrolysis.

Synthesis of VIB Group Metals Silicides Dispersed Powders by Electrolysis of Halide-Oxide Melts

Study of electrochemical behavior of chromium （molybdenum, tungsten） and silicon containing melts allowed defining conditions for synthesis of silicides of chromium, molybdenum and tungsten in the form of fine powders by electrolysis of halide-oxide melts. Sequence of stages of electrosynthesis of silicides of molybdenum and tungsten was found as follows： deposition of more electroposifve metal （molybdenum or tungsten）, deposition of the second component （silicon） on the surface of metal deposited previously, and reaction diffusion of silicon into the deep of the metal-salt ＂pear＂ with the formation of silicide phases of different compositions up to the higher silicides. In contrast, during the electrodeposition of chromium silicides, one of the components （chromium） is deposited not in elemental form, but in oxide form, and the other （silicon） acts as a reducing agent for this oxide to form binary compounds. Duration of the synthesis first stage （deposition of refractory metal or of its oxide） depends on the refractory metal compound content in the system and on the cathode current density. Synthesis of silicides is possible due to retention of powders of molybdenum （tungsten） or chromium oxide at the cathode without scaling. Optimal values of concentrations ratio, current density, temperature, and duration of electrosynthesis were found. Phase composition of products were obtained, as well as their chemical and thermal stability, were studied.