Abstract
Interfacial reactions between thin rare‐earth metal (Er and Tb) films and crystal Si substrates can be drastically modified by ion implantation. With a low‐dose (∼1014 cm−2) Xe ion bombardment through the Er (Tb) film, a well‐defined silicide phase grown in a layer‐by‐layer fasion is observed after postimplantation annealing at ∼300 °C. The rate of growth is parabolic in time with activation energies of 1.71 and 1.25 eV for the Er and Tb silicides, respectively. These results are distinctly different from those observed in unimplanted samples where silicide formation requires somewhat higher temperatures (∼350 °C) and exhibits no evidences of layer‐by‐layer growth. The effect of ion bombardment on the metal‐Si interface and its influences on compound formation are discussed.