Electrical and structural characterization of ultrathin epitaxial CoSi2 on Si(111)

Abstract
We report the fabrication of epitaxial CoSi2 layers on Si(111) as thin as 1 nm. The crystalline lattice of these layers is coherent with the Si lattice, and the silicide is electrically continuous. There are pronounced structural differences between films which are less than 3 nm thick and those which are thicker. The resistivity of the layers increases sharply with decreasing thickness. This is the first report of the growth of coherent, electrically continuous CoSi2 layers on Si.