Interfacial and surface energetics of CoSi2

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Abstract
The energetics of the CoSi2‐Si interface and the CoSi2 surface have been investigated by analyzing the equilibrium shapes of isolated silicide precipitates. CoSi2 precipitates grown by heating 2 Å of Co on a clean, reconstructed Si{100} surface formed with a number of orientations that remained stable upon annealing to high temperatures. Precipitates buried by a Si capping layer were shown to form along {111} and {100} interfaces. A ratio of the CoSi2‐Si interfacial free energies has been measured from the shapes of a large number of buried precipitates indicating that γ{100}/γ{111}=1.43±0.07. It is suggested that the shape of CoSi2 equilibrated within vacuum consists of {111}, {100}, and {110} facets.