Diffusion of elements implanted in amorphous titanium disilicide

Abstract The usual Si dopants, B, P, As, and Sb, plus Ge were implanted into thick (400 nm) TiSi 2 layers deposited in an amorphous state by sputtering from a compound target. Samples with the various implants were annealed at temperatures from 300 to 700°C and analyzed both by transmission electron microscopy and secondary ion spectroscopy. The annealed samples display a very large grain size, which complicates the interpretation of the concentration profiles obtained by SIMS. In the case of a high dose of B (1 × 10 16 atoms/cm 2 at least), there is an indication of grain boundary transport occurring mostly in the initial stage of the heat treatments, followed by phenomena dominated by a reduced solubility in the terminal large-grained matrix. With all elements, except Sb, evidence of diffusion is obtained at 400°C. Germanium diffusion is even observed at 300°C.