Thickness dependent formation and properties of GdSi2/Si(100) interfaces

Epitaxial and polycrystalline orthorhombic GdSi2 films were grown on Si(100) substrates by solid phase reaction between Si and Gd films at different thicknesses of the Gd film . The most important property of these GdSi2/Si interfaces was defect formation. This was investigated by studying the properties of the Schottky barriers by means of current voltage and capacitance–voltage characteristics, deep level transient spectroscopy by double crystal X-ray diffractometry, and transmission electron microscopy. Epitaxial growth of the silicide layer ensured a relatively low interface defect density (about 1010 cm-2), while the non-epitaxial growth induced defects of a much higher density (about 1012 cm-2). The defects generated during the silicide formation are located within a depth of about 10 nm from the GdSi2/Si interface.