DEPTH PROFILING OF CO TI - SILICIDE FILMS USING TOTAL-REFLECTION X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE (TXRF) SPECTROMETRY COMBINED WITH LOW-ENERGY ION-BEAM ETCHING (IBE) FOR SAMPLE PREPARATION/

Solid state phase epitaxy (SSPE) by rapid thermal processing (RTP) of Co/Ti double layers deposited on (100)-Si substrates is a common techn ique for the production of buried CoSi2-silicide conducting layers for microelectronics technology. The understanding of the processes durin g the SSPE silicide formation on the atomic scale needs the study of t he elemental depth distributions with nanometer scale depth resolution of all multi-layer elemental constituents at different RTP conditions . A new experimental technique, the laterally resolved TXRF analysis l ine scan method across the bevelled section of the sample prepared by ex-situ ion beam sputter etching, was used to obtain the multi-element depth profiles. First results on the as evaporated Co/Ti (30 nm thick ) double layer system prior to the RTP and on the final CoSi2/TixCoySi z-system (160 nm thickness) after the RTP were obtained.