Studies of the effect of rapid thermal annealing on the structural and electrical properties of heteroepitaxial CaF sub 2/ CoSi sub 2/ Si(111) structures.

We have used electron channeling and scanning electron microscopy to study the crystallinity and morphology of epitaxial CaF sub 2 layers on CoSi sub 2/ Si(111) substrates before and after a rapid thermal anneal. The channeling patterns from the layers after a rapid thermal anneal are nearly indistinguishable from patterns from bulk crystals, indicating high crystalline quality. The annealing procedure also improves the film morphology substantially. We have studied the effect of the rapid thermal anneal on the electrical resistivity of the underlying CoSi sub 2 layer. The room temperature resistivity is unaffected by the anneal, but the low temperature behavior of the resistivity indicates a high degree of diffuse surface scattering, in contrast to As-grown films.