Defect induced formation of CoSi2 nanowires by focused ion beam synthesis

Cobalt implantation with a focused ion beam (FIB) was applied to study ion beam synthesis of cobalt disilicide nanowires in silicon. Two mechanisms of CoSi2 nanowire formation were investigated: (a) conventional synthesis by Co++ FIB implantation at elevated temperatures into silicon along in-plane < 110 > Si crystal direction and subsequent annealing and (b) self-aligned CoSi2 nanowire growth in cobalt supersaturated silicon on FIB-induced defects at room temperature during subsequent annealing. The obtained CoSi2 nanowires are 20-100 nm in diameter and several micrometers long. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.