Half-metallic ferromagnet formation on Si wafers by using a silicidation process

The half-metallic ferromagnet formation of Co₂MnSi on Si-on-insulator (SOI) wafers was investigated using the silicidation technique, which is a compatible process with CMOS fabrication technology and involves the deposition of Co-Mn metallic films on a silicon layer before a thermal annealing step. Correlations were observed between the magnetic properties and the microstructures of the Co-Mn-Si systems prepared using different process conditions. The process of rapid thermal annealing at 600 °C for 10 min. was found to produce a strong magnetic film mainly of Co₂MnSi phase, where the saturated magnetization amounts to 5.9 × 10^-5 emu/mm² for a 100-nm-thick film with a coercive field of 99 Oe.