Secondary defect annihilation, in layers which had been formed by high-dose Ge implantation of (100) Si, was studied as a function of the Ge fluence, implantation energy, and TiSi2 thickness. Rutherford back-scattering spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the recovery of damaged layers and to monitor Ge diffusion and reaction during silicidation. In the case of the highest fluence, 3 x 1016/cm2 (with about 15at%Ge), it was found that almost complete annihilation of the secondary defects could be achieved after a first low-temperature silicidation step. After a second high-temperature silicidation step, all of the residual defects were removed. In the case of fluences which were lower than 3 x 1016/cm2, complete recovery was already obtained after the first silicidation step.

K.K.Larsen, F.La Via, S.Lombardo, V.Raineri, S.U.Campisano: Applied Physics Letters, 1995, 67[20], 2931-3