Materials and electrical characterization of Er(Si1-xGex)(2-y) films formed on Si1-xGex(001) (x=0-0.3) via rapid thermal annealing

We studied erbium germanosilicide films formed on relaxed p-type Si 1-x Ge x (100) (x = 0-0.3) virtual substrates by conventional rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at temperatures of 500-700°C. Two dimensional X-ray diffraction and pole figure measurements revealed that the silicide films formed were epitaxial Er(Si 1-x Ge x ) 2-y with orientation relationship Er(Si 1-x Ge x ) 2-y (1100)-[0001] II Si 1-x Ge x (001)[110] or Er(Si 1-x Ge x ) 2-y (1100)[0001] II Si 1-x Ge x (001)[110]. Schottky barrier height, Φ Bp , of the Er(Si 1-x Ge x ) 2-y /p - Si 1-x Ge x (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, Φ Bneff , from 0.33 to 0.37 eV.