Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry (RBS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have been used to investigate macroscopic and microscopic segregation in MOCVD grown InGaN layers. The PL peak energy and In content (measured by RBS) were mapped at a large number of distinct points on the samples. An indium concentration of 40%, the highest measured in this work, corresponds to a PL peak of 710 nm, strongly suggesting that the light-emitting regions of the sample are very indium-rich compared to the average measured by RBS. Cross-sectional TEM observations show distinctive layering of the InGaN films. The TEM study further reveals that these layers consist of amorphous pyramidal contrast features with sizes of order 10 nm. The composition of these specific contrast features is shown to be In-rich compared to the nitride matrix.

Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry (RBS), photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) have been used to investigate macroscopic and microscopic segregation in MOCVD grown InGaN layers. The PL peak energy and In content (measured by RBS) were mapped at a large numberof distinct points on the samples. An indium concentration of 40%, the highest measured in this work, corresponds to a PL peak of 710 nm, strongly suggesting that the lightemitting regions of the sample are very indium-rich compared to the average measured by RBS. Cross-sectional TEM observations show distinctive layering of the InGaN films. The TEM study further reveals that these layers consist of amorphous pyramidal contrast features with sizes of order 10 nm. The composition of these specific contrast features is shown to be In-rich compared to the nitride matrix.

The effect of the thickness of the SiGe layers in the Co-SiGe/Si reaction is investigated. Formation of the disilicide phase is retarded when compared to the reaction of Co with pure Si substrates. This delay is dependent on the thickness of the SiGe layer, which determines the effective Ge concentration at the reaction front, changing the energetics of the reaction. Besides, Ge expelled from the Co(Si1-yGey) compound blocks the Co diffusion paths, slowing down the reaction. The thermal stability of the silicide layer is also affected by the Ge segregation, with the film agglomerating at lower temperatures when formed on thicker SiGe layers. The slow supply of Co atoms to the reaction front, due to the blocking of Co diffusion paths by the segregated Ge, is believed to be the reason for the presence of the preferential (h00) orientation of the disilicide phase observed in our samples.

By analogy to reactive deposition epitaxy and titanium interlayer mediated epitaxy experiments, an attempt has been made to constrain the supply of reactants to the reaction interface in the solid phase reaction between Fe and Si. The goal being to change the normal phase formation sequence by using a suitable diffusion barrier, so that β-FeSi2 forms directly. Both Fe-V and Fe-Zr diffusion barriers were used to constrain the supply of the two reactants during Fe-silicide formation. Measurements with these barriers, show first phase formation of β-FeSi2, but direct formation of 3-FeSi2 as first phase has not been observed. In the case of the Fe-V diffusion barrier it was shown that the use of the diffusion barrier resulted in smoother layers of β-FeSi2 than could be formed by direct reaction of Fe on Si. In the case of the Fe-Zr barrier it is found that the barrier fails structurally at high temperatures. While it does prohibit Fe diffusion at low annealing temperatures, significant Si diffusion occurs prior to ε-FeSi formation.

We have investigated the growth of Co deposited on Ag(100) with ultra low energy ion beam deposition. The preferred sites of nucleation, the island densities and heights are determined with scanning tunneling microscopy. Submonolayers of Co were ion beam deposited at 300 K using energies between 5 and 30 eV. Preferential growth of islands on the upper side of the mono-atomic Ag steps (i.e. step decoration) is observed for deposition energies of 5 and 15 eV. In addition, 3–4 ML deep holes are formed in the Ag substrate for deposition at 5 eV. At higher deposition energies, the number of holes per surface area decreases. The results are compared with experiments on thermal deposition of Co on Ag(100) as a function of substrate temperature, performed in a previous study.

In this work we describe the formation of ultra-thin PtSi layers using sputtering for metal deposition and RTP for the silicidation. The problem associated with the controllability of deposition of ultra-thin metal layers can be circumvented by depositing a thick Pt layer followed by a 2-step RTP process with a selective etch step in between. Continuous and uniform 3 nm thick PtSi layers are formed with this technique. Moreover, in another approach similar to the previous one, but in which the first RTP step is omitted, a much smoother PtSi layer is formed. The importance of the interfacial Pt/Si layer formed during metal deposition is described. These processes are totally compatible with CMOS technologies, as shown below.

The Nd-disilicide, which exists only in a tetragonal or an orthorhombic structure, cannot be grown epitaxially on a Si(111) substrate. However, by adding Y and using channeled ion beam synthesis, hexagonal Nd0.32Y0.68Si1.7 epilayers with lattice constant of aepi = 0.3915 nm and cepi = 0.4152 nm and with good crystalline quality (χmin of Nd and Y is 3.5% and 4.3 % respectively) are formed in a Si(111) substrate. This shows that the addition of Y to the Nd-Si system forces the latter into a hexagonal structure. The epilayer is stable up to 950 °C; annealing at 1000 °C results in partial transformation into other phases. The formation, the structure and the thermal stability of this ternary silicide have been studied using Rutherford backscattering/channeling, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy.

We report on the lattice location of 167Er in Si measured by conversion electron emission channeling. In both FZ and CZ Si, a high fraction of Er (>65%) occupies near-tetrahedral interstitial (T) sites directly following 60 keV room temperature implantation at doses of 6× 1012 cm−2 For higher doses, the as-implanted near-T fractions of Er visible by emission channeling are smaller, due to the beginning of amorphization. Following the recovery of implantation damage at 600°C, more than 70% of Er is found on near-T sites in both FZ and CZ Si. In FZ Si, Er exhibits a remarkable thermal stability and only prolonged annealing for several hours reduces the near-T fraction. On the other hand, annealing of CZ Si at 900°C for more than 10 minutes results in the majority of Er probes in sites of very low symmetry or disordered surroundings.

We have studied the lattice sites of Er in CZ Si single crystals by using conversion electron emission channeling from the isotope 167mEr (2.27 s) which is the decay product of radioactive Tm 167m(9.25 d). Following 60 keV implantation of 167Tm at a dose of 4×1013 cm−2 and annealing at 600°C, more than 90% of 167mEr is found close to tetrahedral insterstitial(T) sites. The tetra-hedral fraction of 167mEr decreases considerably after 10min annealing at 800°C and above. We attribute this to the onset of diffusion of the parent 167Tm and its trapping at other defects, presumably oxygen atoms or clusters of Tm/Er.

Thin gadolinium silicide layers have been formed by channeled ion beam synthesis. Continuous and heteroepitaxial GdSil.7 layers with a hexagonal structure and a χmin value of 10% are prepared by Gd ion implantation at 90 keV to a dose of 1.3x1017/cm2 at 450°C in Si(111) using channeled implantation. The hexagonal phase of GdSi1.7 is stable up to a temperature of 850°C. Both the crystalline quality and the phase stability are much better than the results obtained by conventional techniques. Annealing at > 900°C suddenly changes the χmin value of the silicide layer from 10% to 100%. X-ray diffraction shows that the phase has changed to orthorhombic. RBS/channeling, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy are used in this study.

Transmission electron microscopy is used to investigate the structural development as a function of the annealing temperature of Co-silicides prepared on SiGe and SiGeC. The transition temperature from Co(SiGe) into Co(SiGe)2 is higher for SiGeC than for SiGe.

The results are discussed of the characterization by means of TEM, RBS and XRD of ErSi2-x layers prepared by ion beam synthesis on (111) silicon. It will be shown that high quality (buried) layers can be prepared by channelled implantation of the erbium, whereas unchannelled implantation leads to discontinuous polycrystalline surface layers. The epitaxial growth and vacancy ordering in the silicide are discussed.

Rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of Fe-Si layers co-deposited on n- and p- type Si (100) and Si-capped relaxed Si0.6Ge0.4 (100) substrates was studied. Relaxed (100) Si0.6Ge0.4 epitaxial layers represent a pseudo-matched substrate for the β-FeSi2 phase. Fe-Si layers with a 1:2 composition ratio were deposited at room temperature in an MBE system. Samples were then subjected to a rapid thermal annealing in a H2/N2-atmosphere in the temperature range between 500 and 800 °C. Conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy showed that the layers consist of the β-FeSi2 phase. Nomarski microscopy revealed crystal grains of the diameter from 5 to 10 μm. Cross-section transmission electron microscopy study found smooth surfaces and interfaces. No significant structural defects were found inside the grains. Differences between current-voltage characteristics of simple devices prepared on these layers agree with the trends expected from their band diagrams.

We investigated the formation of a buried HfSi2 layer by high fluence ion implantation of isotopically mass separated 179–180 Hf+ on heated silicon (100) substrates. It is shown that for the substrate temperature of 600°C a buried HfSi 2 layer is formed. By subsequent annealing at 1000 °C a continuous 12 nm HfSi2 layer on the Si surface is formed followed by 130 nm big almost spherodized HfSi2 ellipsoid and 80 nm small HfSi2 and Si grains. The annealing of samples implanted at lower temperatures show that HfSi2 is also formed but with reduced yield. A summary of the relevant data is presented.

We report the formation of the CsCI FeSi phase in Fe/FeSi multilayers with constant Fe thickness and varying FeSi layer thickness. The crystallographic and magnetic properties of this metastable FeSi phase are determined in thick (62 nm) epitaxial silicide layers with ion channeling, X-ray diffraction and Mossbauer spectroscopy measurements which clearly show that the CsCl phase becomes increasingly magnetic upon cooling down to 4.2 K. These results indicate that the transition from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic coupling observed at low temperatures in such multilayers is controlled by a magnetic phase transition in the FeSi spacer layer.

Results are reported of a Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) study of the conversion of the divacancy, with energy level at Ev+0.19eV, to a level at Ev+0.24eV after anneal at temperatures below its dissociation temperature (300°C). In literature both levels have been associated with the donor level of the divacancy.

Diodes processed on p-type Float Zone (FZ) and Czochralski (Cz) silicon wafers with boron concentration between 0.2 and 3E15 cm−3 are irradiated with 2 MeV electrons. Before and after anneal (200°C and 250°C) DLTS spectra are recorded to get a full electrical characterisation of the induced defects.

The observed conversion is proposed to be a gradual transformation of the divacancy to a divacancy-oxygen complex.

Fe-Silicides were formed by annealing MBE-deposited thin Fe layers with a thickness in the range of 24 Å on (7x7) reconstructed Si(l11) substrates. Samples suitable for depth-selective investigations by CEMS (Conversion Electron Mössbauer Spectrometry) were prepared by using only the 57Fe isotope for a few monolayers of the total Fe film, and depositing these selectively right at the interface or separated from it. During the growth the substrate was held at room temperature. The silicide formation upon annealing to temperatures up to 900°C was monitored in situ with RHEED. From the CEMS studies a drastically different sample composition was inferred as a function of monolayer distance from the interface for the as-deposited samples and for annealing temperatures up to 400°C. Analysis of these spectra indicates the presence of metastable and stable iron silicides.

Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is probably one of the most frequently used techniques for quantitative analysis of composition, thickness, and depth profiles of thin solid films or solid samples near the surface region. It has evolved in the past few years from an obscure nuclear technique into a major materials characterization technique. This is primarily due to its simplicity, versatility, and the amount of information it can produce in a short time. Because of its quantitative feature, RBS analysis often serves as a standard for other techniques. The purpose of this article is to introduce the topic to a broad community of materials researchers. Readers who want a more rigorous treatment of the topic for utility purposes can refer to a monograph.

In the early 1960s, several of the low-energy atomic and nuclear physics laboratories started to use their accelerators to do research in solid-state physics. This activity opened up a fertile interdisciplinary area called ion-solid interaction, which impacts materials research significantly.

Epitaxial CoSi2 layers on Si substrates have been amorphized with Co and/or Si ion implantation. The influence of nonstoichiometry on the rate of solid-phase epitaxial growth (SPEG) of amorphized CoSi2 has been investigated with time-resolved reflectivity, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and Mossbauer spectrometry, the latter with radioactive 57Co probes. A decrease in SPEG rate was apparent with an increase in nonstoichiometry. For a given ion dose, the decrease was greater following Co implantation. The means by which non-stoichiometry is accommodated in a crystalline CoSi2 lattice - either through phase separation or defect formation - has been considered. SPEG rate retardation was also evident in samples implanted with both Si and Co ions with a Si:Co dose ratio of 2:1. Additional mechanisms may thus also contribute to the observed SPEG rate reduction.