Résumé
Erbium disilicide (ErSi ) thin films grown by two different techniques are compared using a variety of characterization techniques, both electrical and physical. The first technique involves Er deposition and annealing under ultrahigh vacuum and the second one focuses on Ti/Er/Si(100) stacks evaporated under high vacuum and heated ex situ by rapid thermal annealing. Crystalline phase identification by X-ray diffraction reveals the formation of ErSi for all the studied samples. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy shows that the Ti cap transforms into Ti-Si compounds. The efficient stripping of the capping layer is also demonstrated. Atomic force microscopy evidences the formation of inverted pyramidal defects in both cases, with some improvement for the Ti-capped samples. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profiles show that the ErSi films and the ErSi /Si interfaces are oxygen-free. The extracted Schottky barrier height of ErSi /n-Si contacts lies around 0.3 eV notwithstanding the annealing temperature or the growth technique. It thus demonstrates a route to form ErSi thin films that advantageously compares with reference ultrahigh vacuum samples with less stringent fabrication conditions.
langue originale | Anglais |
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Pages (de - à) | 4501-4505 |
Nombre de pages | 5 |
journal | Thin Solid Films |
Volume | 520 |
Numéro de publication | 13 |
Les DOIs | |
Etat de la publication | Publié - 30 avr. 2012 |