Kinetics of TiSi2 formation by thin Ti films on Si

Abstract

Silicide formation with Ti deposited on single crystal Si and Ti deposited on amorphous Si layers sequentially without breaking the vacuum was investigated using backscattering spectrometry and glancing-angle x-ray diffraction. For Ti deposited on amorphous Si, TiSi2 was formed with a rate proportional to (time)1/2 and an activation energy of 1.8±0.1 eV. For Ti deposited on single crystal Si, the reaction rate was slower and the silicide layer was nonuniform in thickness. We attribute the difference in behavior to the presences of interfacial impurities in the case where Ti was deposited on single crystal Si.