Surface and interfacial energies of CoSi₂ and Si films. Implications regarding formation of three-dimensional silicon-silicide structures

Formation of three-dimensional, multilevel structures consisting of epitaxial silicon and silicide films is currently of interest in the microelectronics technology. However, such structures have been difficult to produce because of surface wetting differences. To obtain associated surface energy information, an analysis was carried out of published data on the kinetics of crystallization of amorphous CoSi₂ and Si films. The analysis indicated that the amorphous-to-crystalline interfacial energy of amorphous CoSi₂ films is about one-fourth that of amorphous Si films, from which it was inferred that the surface energy of epitaxial CoSi₂ films is less than that of epitaxial Si films. The approach used in the analysis is general and should be extendable to other systems.