Structural and Electrical Properties of Metal Silicide Precipitates in Silicon

This paper summarizes current understanding of structural and electronic properties of metal silicide precipitates in silicon and their interrelation. Combined studies of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and deep level transient spectroscopy together with numerical simulations show that the bounding dislocation of nickel silicide platelets is the key to understand their rapid growth and electrical properties. Different misfit relaxation phenomena govern the structural evolution of copper silicide precipitates from their early stages to the well-known colony growth. This evolution involves different types of secondary defects indicating that the deep band-like states observed throughout this process are associated with the silicide precipitates themselves.