Ion beam synthesis and characterization of yttrium silicide in Si(111)

Thin YSi2−x layers are formed by 195 keV Y ion implantation in Si(111) substrates to a dose of 2 × 1017 Y+/cm2 at 500 °C followed by annealing in nitrogen atmosphere at different temperatures for 1 h. The investigation of the phase composition is carried out by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), whereas the structural characterization is accomplished by means of both X-ray diffraction (XRD) pole figure and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM). The results show that the YSi2−x layers grown on the Si has the epitaxial relationship of YSi2−x (0 0 0 1)//Si(111) and YSi2−x [1 1 − 2 0 ]//Si [110].