MESOTAXY BY NICKEL DIFFUSION INTO A BURIED AMORPHOUS-SILICON LAYER

A novel method to produce a buried epitaxial silicide in silicon is described. Metal atoms are deposited onto the surface of a piece of crystalline silicon (c-Si) which contains a buried amorphous silicon (a-Si) layer in the "as-implanted" state. Prolonged heating at 350-degrees-C leads to diffusion of metal atoms through the thin c-Si top layer followed by a chemical reaction with the buried a-Si, forming buried epitaxial silicide islands. These islands then move through the a-Si layer, leaving behind epitaxially crystallized silicon.