Carbon mediated reduction of silicon dioxide and growth of copper silicide particles in uniform width channels

Abstract

We show that surface arc-discharge deposited carbon plays a critical intermediary role in the breakdown of thermally grown oxide diffusion barriers of 90 nm on a silicon wafer at 1035 °C in an Ar/H2 atmosphere, resulting in the formation of epitaxial copper silicide particles in ≈ 10 μm wide channels, which are aligned with the intersections of the (100) surface of the wafer and the {110} planes on an oxidized silicon wafer, as well as endotaxial copper silicide nanoparticles within the wafer bulk. We apply energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, in combination with scanning and transmission electron microscopy of focused ion beam fabricated lammelas and trenches in the structure to elucidate the process of their formation.

A back-to-back MOS–Schottky (Pt–SiO2–Si–C–Pt) nano-heterojunction device as an efficient self-powered photodetector: one step fabrication by pulsed laser deposition

“…Analogous to this experiment of HF etching of SiO 2 , during the deposition of a carbon lm by PLD on a silicon substrate, the carbon plume reacts with the thin layer of SiO 2 at high growth temperature (in situ carbothermal annealing process) to reduce it to Si according to the following reaction. 16,17 SiO…”