300 mm CMOS-compatible fabrication of Ru2Si3 sub-50 nm thin films and characterization

We report the thermoelectric characterization of Ru2Si3 thin films. Ruthenium (VI)-silicide was formed via silicidation by rapid thermal processing of ruthenium on amorphous, undoped silicon of different thicknesses (sub-50 nm). 300 mm wafer level processes were applied, utilizing physical and chemical vapor deposition methods. High-temperature-XRD, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry confirm the formation of single-phase Ru2Si3 thin films. Thermoelectric measurements reveal exceptionally high Seebeck coefficients of up to 1.5 mV/K close to room temperature in dependence of adjustable oxide nanoskins. Due to the thermal stability of the nanoskins, fine-tuning of the thermoelectric properties by rapid thermal processing could be applied in a large temperature range. (C)2022 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Automated summary

In this study, the thermoelectric properties of Ru2Si3 thin films were characterized, showing exceptionally high Seebeck coefficients close to room temperature in dependency of adjustable oxide nanoskins formed via rapid thermal processing.