Abstract
We studied erbium germanosilicide films formed on relaxed p-type Si1-xGex(100) (x = 0-0.3) virtual substrates by conventional rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at temperatures of 500-700 degrees C. Two dimensional X-ray diffraction and pole figure measurements revealed that the silicide films formed were epitaxial Er(Si1-xGex)(2-y) with orientation relationship Er(Si1-xGex)(2-y)(1 (1) over bar 00)-[0001] parallel to Si1-xGex(001)[110] or Er(Si1-xGex)(2-y)(1 (1) over bar 00)[0001] parallel to Si1-xGex(001)[(1) over bar 10]. Schottky barrier height, phi(Bp), of the Er(Si1-xGex)(2-y)/p - Si1-xGex(100) contact was found to decrease from 0.79 to 0.62 eV with increasing Ge (from 0 to 30%), implying a slight increase in its barrier height for electrons, phi(Bneff), from 0.33 to 0.37 eV. (c) 2007 The Electrochemical Society.