The paper is aimed at getting deeper insight into the fundamental mechanisms that govern CoSi(2) precipitate nucleation and growth during Co ion implantation at high temperatures (500-650 degrees C). Information about nucleation and growth of metal silicides as a function of temperature and implantation flux is provided by experiments on cobalt implantation in silicon, performed directly by in situ transmission electron microscopy. The main attention is paid to the nucleation of B-type precipitates, which dominate under ion implantation conditions. The obtained quantitative behavior of precipitate number density and size and the scaling of these values with implantation flux are discussed and rationalized in terms of analytical and simulation approaches. An atomistic model of B-type precipitate nucleation based on the first-principles calculations of relative energetic efficiency of different Co clusters is proposed. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.
