Point defect-dislocation loop behavior in Si with a TiSi2 film

The behavior of end-of-range dislocation loops have been used to study the flux of point defects in Si after the formation of a TiSi2 film. Extrinsic dislocation loops were formed in Si which then had 30 nm of Ti deposited and annealed to form TiSi2. Control samples with loops but without a TiSi2 film were annealed concurrently without a TiSi2 film to provide a comparison. The density of the interstitials bound by the loops was measured by plan view TEM. Enhanced loss of interstitials bound by the loops in the silicided samples indicate a vacancy supersaturation caused by the presence of the TiSi2 film. By assuming a constant flux of vacancies from the TiSi2Si interface to the layer of dislocation loops, we measure CVDV values, where CV = concentration of vacancies and DV = diffusivity of a vacancy. By using a literature estimate of CV∗DV, where CV∗ = equilibrium population of vacancies, we derive CVCV∗ ∼ 1.2 for Si annealed with a TiSi2 film, which is in substantial agreement with the value from a previous study.