Study of Titanium and Nickel Silicide Formation By Q-Switched Laser and Multiscanning E-Beam

ABSTRACT ABSTRACTThe use of Q-switched ruby laser and multiscanning electron beam annealing (MEBA) to produce the reaction of thin Ti and Ni films deposited onto single crystal Si has been studied. Laser annealing produces a reaction at the interface between the metal and the semiconductor; the reacted layers are not uniform in composition and more similar to a mixture than to a well-defined phase. The silicide layers produced by MEBA results from the solid state reaction of whole metal layer and have well-defined compositions and sharp interfaces between phases and the underlying crystal. The observed thicknesses of the silicides produced by MEBA cannot be accounted for by the parabolic volume diffusion mechanism operating in the standard furnace annealing. Post annealing treatments in furnace showed that e-beam produced silicides have the same thermal stability as those produced by conventional heat treatments. The presence of a critical temperature for silicide formation in Ti/Si MEBA annealed samples has been confirmed and studied in detail.