Lattice and grain-boundary diffusions of boron atoms in BaSi2 epitaxial films on Si(111)

A 180-nm-thick boron (B) layer was deposited on a 300-nm-thick a-axis-oriented BaSi2 epitaxial film grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Si(111) and was annealed at different temperatures in ultrahigh vacuum. The depth profiles of B were investigated using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) with O²⁺, and the diffusion coefficients of B were evaluated. The B profiles were reproduced well by taking both the lattice and the grain boundary (GB) diffusions into consideration. The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image revealed that the GBs of the BaSi2 film were very sharp and normal to the sample surface. The plan-view TEM image exhibited that the grain size of the BaSi2 film was approximately 0.6 μm. The temperature dependence of lattice and GB diffusion coefficients was derived from the SIMS profiles, and their activation energies were found to be 4.6 eV and 4.4 eV, respectively.