Growth and Characterization of Erbium Silicides Synthesized by Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc Ion Implantation

Abstract

AbstractErbium atoms were implanted into p-type Si (111) wafers at an extraction voltage of 60 kV to doses ranging from 5×1016 to 2×1017 cm−2 using a metal vapour vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion source. The implantation was performed with beam current densities from 3 to 26 µA/cm2 corresponding to substrate temperatures ranging from 85 to 245°C. The characterization of the as-implanted and annealed samples was performed using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction. To determine the sputtering yield, masked implantation experiments were performed so that the thickness of the sputtered layer at different substrate temperatures can be obtained directly by an α-step surface profiler. The results showed that ErSi2-xwas directly formed by MEVVA implantation when the substrate temperature was higher than about 160°C. The effects of the implant dose and the beam current density on the retained dose, the sputtering yield and the surface morphology of the implanted samples were also studied.