Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
The application of medium energy ion scattering in combination with channelling and blocking to the study of the initial stages of palladium siuicide formation is discussed. After a brief description of the experimental arrangement and method, the effects on the Rutherford backscattering spectra of depositing small quantities of palladium on clean Si(111) are reported. The uniformity and thermal stability of thin palladium silicide films grown at room temperature were measured. Finally, channelling and blocking results were used to carry out a structural analysis of thin epitaxial Pd2Si layers.