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Kinetics and Thermodynamics of Amorphous Silicide Formation in Metal/Amorphous-Silicon Multilayer Thin Films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

C. V. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
L. A. Clevenger
Affiliation:
I.B.M. T.J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
R. DeAvillez
Affiliation:
Departamento de Ciencia doc Materiais e Metalurgia, Pontifico Universidade Catolica, 22452-Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
E. Ma
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
H. Miura
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 Permanent address: Hitachi Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, Tsuchiura, Ibaraki, Japan
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Abstract

Formation of intermetallic phases upon heating of films composed of alternating layers of metal and amorphous silicon has been studied using power-compensated differential scanning calorimetry, crosssectional transmission electron microscopy, and thin film x-ray diffractrometry. Results for Ni/amorphous-Si (Ni/a-Si), Ti/a-Si, V/a- Si, and Co/a-Si are reviewed. In the first three cases, an amorphous silicide is the first phase to form. Further heating leads to thickening of the amorphous silicide and eventually to formation and growth of layers of crystalline silicides. In the case of Co/a-Si multilayer films, a crystalline silicide (CoSi) appears to be the first phase to form. In these systems calorimetric measurements suggest that there are barriers to nucleation of the crystalline phases, even though the energy reduction that would accompany their formation from pure components is large. It is suggested that interdiffusion may precede the formation of new phases at the original metal/a-Si interfaces, resulting in a significant decrease in the driving force for nucleation of the crystalline phases.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1990

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