LASER-ASSISTED CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION OF TISI2 - ASPECTS OF DEPOSITION AND ETCHING

Lines of TiSi2 were written on Si(100) substrates by using a focused Ar+-laser. The reaction gas mixture consisted of TiCl4 and H-2 and the substrate was used as the silicon source. The laser deposited TiSi2 lines were examined as a function of the deposition parameters. Especially the initial reactions have been studied by varying the the writing speed in a wide range. The C-54 phase of TiSi2 was observed in all experiments. The geometrical shape and the surface profile of the deposited TiSi2 were complicated functions of the process parameters and the growth process itself. Substrate reactions increased the substrate etching initially. After a sufficiently thick layer of TiSi2 had been grown, thus protecting the substrate from the reaction gas mixture, the etch process stopped. By minimizing the initial substrate reactions, flat lines with respect to the substrate surface could be grown.