AVS 45th International Symposium
    Thin Films Division Wednesday Sessions
       Session TF-WeM

Paper TF-WeM3
Pinhole Formation in Solid Phase Epitaxial Film of CoSi@sub 2@ on Si(111)

Wednesday, November 4, 1998, 9:00 am, Room 310

Session: ULSI Metalization and Interconnects
Presenter: L. Ruan, The Rowland Institute for Science
Authors: L. Ruan, The Rowland Institute for Science
D.M. Chen, The Rowland Institute for Science
Correspondent: Click to Email
We have revisited the long-standing pinhole problem in solid phase epitaxial growth of a CoSi@sub 2@ film on Si(111) with in situ scanning tunneling microscopy.@footnote 1@ While the as-deposited film with 5 Å of Co at room temperature shows a smooth granular texture with original substrate terraces remaining intact, annealing at 580ºC produces an epitaxial CoSi@sub 2@ film with large pinholes enclosed by a thin ring CoSi@sub 2@, exhibiting a volcano feature. Quantitative analysis shows that the formation of pinholes is a result of rapid Si outward diffusion from bulk to surface, and of the subsequent Si reaction with Co on the outer surface. Evidence suggests that inhibiting the Si diffusion channels during the thermal annealing process is the key to solving the pinhole problem. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@Like Ruan and D. M.Chen, Apply. Phys. Lett. in press.