Microscopic properties and behavior of silicide interfaces

Abstract

Over the past few years there has been substantial progress in understanding the microscopic chemistry and properties of transition-metal/Si and corresponding silicide/Si interfaces. The application of new techniques to these interfaces has given new insight into the two fundamental issues in this field, which are: (1) What is the microscopic chemistry of atoms at the reactive metal/Si (or silicide/Si) interface? (2) What microscopic mechanisms are responsible for determining the Schottky barrier height of the interface? Recent results, reviewed in this paper, demonstrate clearly that the interface properties are dominated by the basic chemical reactivity of the interface, in which suicide compound formation represents the main chemical driving force. At the same time, it is becoming apparent that these characteristics play an important role in determining the Schottky barrier height. © 1983.