HETEROEPITAXIAL ER0.49GD0.51SI1.7 LAYERS FORMED BY CHANNELED ION-BEAMSYNTHESIS

Epitaxial ternary silicide Er0.49Gd0.51Si1.7 layers with a good crysta lline quality (chi(min) of Er and Gd is 3.7%) have been formed by 60 k eV Er and Gd ion implantation into Si(1 1 1) substrates to a total dos e of 1.0 x 10(17)/cm(2) at 450 degrees C using channeled ion beam synt hesis (CIBS). The composition, the structure, the strain and the therm al stability of these layers have been studied using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), Rutherford backscattering (RBS)/channeling and X- ray diffraction (XRD). It is shown that the perpendicular and parallel elastic strains of the ET0.49Gd0.51Si1.7 epilayer are e(perpendicular to) = -0.46% +/- 0.02% and e(parallel to) = +0.73% +/- 0.19%. The lay er is stable up to 900 degrees C. Annealing at 950 degrees C results i n a phase transformation. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights re served.