Conditions of fabrication that control the interfacial microstructure of metal-semiconductor contacts formed from silver metal and (100)-oriented substrates of indium phosphide

Abstract

An examination was made of the microstructure of silver contacts vacuum evaporated onto (100)-oriented substrates of indium phosphide. In the investigation we utilized the technique of X-ray diffractometry combined with a chemical profiling of the silver contact. The observations made with X-ray diffractometry were correlated with direct observation of the bulk silver and the metal- semiconductor interface by using scanning electron microscopy and element mapping. The influence of annealing conditions and chemical treatment of the substrate on the development of the bulk silver and the interfacial microstructure was also examined.