Growth and the electrical properties of epitaxial CrSi2 films prepared on Si(111) substrates

Abstract

About a 290-Angstrom-thick CrSi2 film was epitaxially grown on a Si(lll) substrate by Cr deposition on a Si(lll)-7x7 substrate at similar to 450 degrees C followed by en situ annealing at similar to 1000 degrees C for 10 min. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that the CrSi2(001) plane grew parallel to the Si(lll) plane with a CrSi2[210]parallel to Si[110] matching face relationship. CrSi2 is a p-type degenerate semiconductor. The electrical resistivity at room temperature was similar to 5 x 10(-3) Omega cm, and the energy band gap deduced from the temperature dependence of resistivity was similar to 0.3 eV.