Abstract
This study investigates the formation of Ni silicides on epilayers grown on Si(001). The presence of C atoms retards the growth kinetics of NiSi and significantly enhances the thermal stability of NiSi thin films. In particular, an abnormal redistribution of C atoms in the NiSi thin films was observed during Ni silicidation. The NiSi layer was split into two sublayers by an obvious pileup of C atoms. This study proposes a mechanism to elucidate this phenomenon in terms of the C solubility. C atoms accumulated at the interfaces and NiSi grain boundaries may act as diffusion barriers, effectively hindering the grain growth and agglomeration of NiSi and extending the process window of low resistivity NiSi silicides.
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