Barrier heights and silicide formation for Ni, Pd, and Pt on silicon

Abstract

Deposited Ni, Pd, and Pt films on $n$-type Si have been annealed up to 700°C. Silicide formation was monitored by MeV ${}_{}{}^4{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{He}$ Rutherford backscattering and glancing-angle x-ray diffraction. Barrier-height measurements were performed mainly using forward $I-V$ characteristics. The values of the barrier heights are 0.66 eV for ${\mathrm{Ni}}_2$Si and NiSi, 0.75 eV for ${\mathrm{Pd}}_2$Si; 0.85 eV for ${\mathrm{Pt}}_2$Si, and 0.87 to 0.88 eV for PtSi. The barrier heights depend primarily on the metal deposited and not on the particular silicide phase.