The oxygen effect in the growth kinetics of platinum silicides

Silicide formation is strongly affected by the presence of oxygen contained in the metal film. A study has been performed by heating at various times and temperatures samples constituted by a thin Pt film sputter deposited on a silicon substrate. Four different oxygen concentrations were implanted in the Pt film ranging from 1 to 0.1 at.%. The presence of oxygen slows down the growth rate of Pt2Si. At 315 °C in the sample with an oxygen concentration of 1 at.%, about 1000 A of Pt2Si are formed after 20 min of annealing. During the silicide formation, the oxygen originally contained in the platinum films segregates at the Pt2Si/Pt interface. This accumulation acts as a barrier for the transport of Pt and a new phase, PtSi, can form at the Pt2Si/Si interface. The dose necessary to stop the Pt2Si reaction is about (2–4)×1015 at./cm2 at 315 °C.