Electronic structure of NiSi2

Abstract

Structural and electronic properties of epitaxial Ni${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$ crystals are investigated with the use of low-energy-electron diffraction, Auger spectroscopy, and photoemission. Normal emission spectra from (111) and (100) Ni${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$ surfaces yield band dispersions and critical-point energies along $\ensuremath{\Gamma}\ensuremath{-}L$ and $\ensuremath{\Gamma}\ensuremath{-}X$ directions of the bulk Brillouin zone which support the results of recent self-consistent band calculations. No evidence of surface reconstruction is observed on (111) or (100) Ni${\mathrm{Si}}_{2}$ crystal faces; however, high-temperature annealing does promote silicon-atom segregation at the surface.