The growth and applications of silicides for nanoscale devices

Metal silicides have been used in silicon technology as contacts to achieve high device performance and desired device functions. The growth and applications of silicide materials have recently attracted increasing interest for nanoscale device applications. Nanoscale silicide materials have been demonstrated with various synthetic approaches. Solid state reaction wherein high quality silicides form through diffusion of metal atoms into silicon nano-templates and the subsequent phase transformation caught significant attention for the fabrication of nanoscale Si devices. Very interestingly, studies on the diffusion and phase transformation processes at the nanoscale have indicated possible deviations from the bulk and the thin film system. Here we present a review of fabrication, growth kinetics, electronic properties and device applications of nanoscale silicides formed through solid state reaction.