Growth of single crystal epitaxial silicides on silicon by the use of template layers

Abstract

A novel crystal growth technique for silicide epitaxy is presented which utilizes thin silicide (<60 Å) template layers to pin the subsequent growth under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Single crystal NiSi2 films can be grown with either type A or type B orientations on Si (111). Continuous single crystal NiSi2 is grown on Si (100) with a flat interface and uniform thickness. Thick CoSi2 can be grown on Si (111) by a similar process using thicker templates.