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The Effect of Layer Thickness on the Reaction Kinetics of Nickel/Silicon Multilayer Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

L. A. Clevenger
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
C. V. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
R. C. Cammarata
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
K. N. Tu
Affiliation:
IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598
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Abstract

Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Debye-Scherrer X-ray diffraction have been used to characterize silicide formation in nickel/amorphous-silicon multilayer films. Two different Ni:Si layer thickness ratios were investigated, 3:11 and 1:1. Films with layer thickness ratio of 3:11 first formed Ni2Si followed by NiSi at a temperature 25°C higher. Multilayer films with 1:1 thickness ratios formed only Ni2Si. Activation energies for these reaction were determined and found to be in agreement with previous results on bilayer films. The temperature at which Ni 2Si formation was complete in the 1:1 films was found to decrease with decreasing layer thickness. Analysis of this phenomenon allowed determination of the interdiffusivity during silicide formation, also in agreement with previous results. Films with 1:1 layer thickness ratios and layer thickness of 125 Å or less were found to sometimes undergo explosive silicidation. This presumably occurs because the rate of heat generation at the reacting interfaces exceeds the rate of heat dissipation.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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References

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