A comprehensive presentation and analysis of properties and methods of formation of semiconducting silicides. Fundamental electronic, optical and transport properties of the silicides collected from recent publications will help readers choose their application in new generations of solid-state devices. A comprehensive presentation of thermodynamic and kinetic data is given in combination with their technical application, as is information on corresponding thin-film or bulk crystal formation techniques.

Silicides were introduced into the technology of electronic devices some thirty years ago; since then, they have been continuously used to form both ohmic and rectifying contacts to silicon. Silicides are also important for other applications (thermoelectric devices and structural applications, such as jet engines), but it is not easy to find an updated reference containing both their basic properties, either chemical or physical, and the latest applications.The 16th Course of the International School of Solid State Physics, held in Erice (Italy) in the late spring of 1999, was intended to break artificial barriers between disciplines, and to gather people concerned with the properties and applications of silicides, regardless of the formal fields to which they belong, or of the practical goals they pursue. This book is therefore concerned with theory as well as applications, metallurgy as well as physics, and materials science as well as microelectronics.

Knowledge of the refractive indices and absorption coefficients of semiconductors is especially important in the design and analysis of optical and photonic devices. This book presents data on the optical constants of various elemental and compound semiconductors. A complete set of the optical constants of the semiconductors are presented in tabular and graphical forms over the entire photon-energy range. They are: the complex dielectric constant ε(E)=ε1(E)+iε2(E), the complex refractive index n*(E)=n(E)+ik(E), the absorption coefficient α(E), and the normal-incidence reflectivity R(E). The book will aid many who are interested to know the optical constants of the elemental and compound semiconductors in the course of their work.

A timely reference from leading experts on semiconductor nanowires and their applications.

Intermetallics is concerned with all aspects of ordered chemical compounds between two or more metals and notably with their applications. This book covers new and important research on the crystal chemistry and bonding theory of intermetallics; determination and analysis of phase diagrams; the nature of superlattices, antiphase domains and order-disorder transitions; the geometry and dynamics of dislocations and related defects in intermetallics; theory and experiments relating to flow stress, work-hardening, fatigue and creep; response of deformed intermetallics to annealing; magnetic and electrical properties of intermetallics; structure and properties of grain and interphase boundaries; the effect of deviations from stoichiometry on physical and mechanical properties; crystallisation of intermetallics from the melt or amorphous precursors.

This book focuses exclusively on control of interfacial properties and structures for semiconductor device applications from the point of view of improving and developing novel electrical properties. The following topics are covered: metal-semiconductors, semiconductor hetero-interfaces, characterization, semiconducting new materials, insulator-semiconductor, interfaces in device, control of interface formation, control of interface properties, contact metallization. A variety of up-to-date research topics such as atomic layer epitaxy, atomic layer passivation, atomic scale characterization including STM and SR techniques, single ion implementation, self-organization crystal growth, in situ measurements for process control and extremely high-spatial resolution analysis techniques, are also included. Furthermore it bridges the macroscopic, mesoscopic, and atomic-scale regimes of semicondutor interfaces, describing the state of the art in forming, controlling and characterizating unique semiconductor interfaces, which will be of practical importance in advanced devices. Intended for both technologists who require an up-to-date assessment of methods for interface formation, processing and characterization, and solid state researchers who desire the latest developments in understanding the basic mechanisms of interface physics, chemistry and electronics, this book will be a welcome addition to the existing literature.

Nanoscale materials are showing great promise in various electronic, optoelectronic, and energy applications. Silicon (Si) has especially captured great attention as the leading material for microelectronic and nanoscale device applications. Recently, various silicides have garnered special attention for their pivotal role in Si device engineering