Detection of silicide formation in nanoscale visualization of interface electrostatics

The ability to detect localized silicide formation at a buried metal semiconductor Schottky interface is demonstrated via nanoscale measurements of the electrostatic barrier. This is accomplished by mapping the Schottky barrier height of the Cr/Si(001) interface by ballistic electron emission microscopy (BEEM). Monte-Carlo modeling is employed to simulate the distributions of barrier heights that include scattering of the electrons that traverse the metal layer and a distribution of electrostatic barriers at the interface. The best agreement between the model and the data is achieved when specifying two barrier heights less than 60 meV from one another instead of a singular barrier. This provides strong evidence that localized silicide formation occurs that would be difficult to observe in averaged BEEM spectra or conventional current voltage measurements.