Formation and Properties of Copper Silicide Precipitates in Silicon

Abstract

We report results of a detailed study of structural and electrical properties of copper silicide precipitates in silicon. Using conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy we observe that metastable platelets surrounded by extrinsic stacking faults form upon quenching from high temperatures. By ripening experiments at low temperatures as well as by a variation of cooling rates it is shown how homogeneous copper precipitation merges into the heterogeneous precipitation mode of colony growth. The application of recently developed criteria for the interpretation of deep level transient spectra from extended defects allows to conclude that deep electronic states associated with the precipitates have bandlike character.