1. A method of manufacturing a metal silicide electrode for a semiconductor device, comprising:
co-depositing by physical vapor deposition, a homogeneous mixture consisting of germanium atoms and transition metal atoms to form a metal-germanium alloy layer on a semiconductor substrate; and
reacting said metal-germanium alloy layer and said semiconductor substrate to form a metal silicide electrode.
2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said transition metal atoms comprise nickel.
3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein physical vapor depositing comprises sputtering from a nickel germanium alloy target.
4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said nickel germanium alloy target comprises less than about 10 atom percent germanium.
5. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said nickel germanium alloy target comprises less than about 5 atom percent germanium.
6. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said nickel germanium alloy target comprises between about 0.1 and about 5 atom percent germanium.
7. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said metal-germanium alloy layer has substantially the same nickel and germanium concentration as said nickel germanium alloy target.
8. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein sputtering includes a direct current power of about 600 Watts a sputtering chamber vapor pressure of about 5 Torr.
9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein reacting comprises heating said metal-germanium alloy layer and said semiconductor substrate to between about 250\xb0 C. and about 550\xb0 C. for at least about 0.1 second.
10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein reacting comprises heating said metal-germanium alloy layer and said semiconductor substrate to between about 250\xb0 C. and about 350\xb0 C. for at least about 0.1 second.
11. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said metal silicide electrode comprises nickel silicide.
12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said metal silicide electrode comprises sourcedrain electrodes in a MOS transistor.
13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said metal silicide electrode comprises sourcedrain electrodes in a pMOS transistor.
14. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein an interface between said metal silicide electrode and said semiconductor substrate has an average roughness of less than about 40 percent.
15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said metal silicide electrode has an average thickness that is between about 1 time and 3 times a thickness of said alloy layer.
16. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said metal silicide electrode has a thickness of between about 10 nanometers and about 60 nanometers.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for producing a toner, comprising the following (i) or (ii):
(i) adding a polymerizable monomer composition containing a polymerizable monomer and silica particles to an aqueous medium to form particles of the polymerizable monomer composition, and polymerizing the polymerizable monomer contained in the particles to produce toner particles; or
(ii) mixing a binder resin, the silica particles, and an organic solvent that can dissolve the binder resin to prepare a resin solution containing dispersed silica particles and the binder resin dissolved in the organic solvent, adding the resin solution to an aqueous medium to form particles of the resin solution, and removing the organic solvent from the particles to produce toner particles,
wherein the silica particles have a volume-average particle diameter (Dv) of 50 nm or more and 800 nm or less,
the mass loss rate due to heating of the silica particles from 105\xb0 C. to 200\xb0 C. is 0.60% or less, and
the hydrophobicity of the silica particles is 5% or more and less than 40%.
2. The method for producing a toner according to claim 1, wherein the coefficient of variation of volume particle size distribution of the silica particles is 23% or less.
3. The method for producing a toner according to claim 1, wherein the silica particles are subjected to hydrophobic treatment with a hydrophobic treatment agent.
4. The method for producing a toner according to claim 3, wherein the hydrophobic treatment agent contains carbon.
5. The method for producing a toner according to claim 4, wherein the carbon content of the silica particles derived from the hydrophobic treatment agent is 1.0% by mass or less.
6. The method for producing a toner according to claim 1, wherein the immobilization rate of the hydrophobic treatment agent in the silica particles is 90% or more.