Formation and evolution of epitaxial Co5Ge7 film on Ge (001) surface by solid-state reaction in an in situ ultrahigh-vacuum transmission electron microscope

Abstract

A thin metallic cobalt (Co) layer was deposited on a single-crystal Ge (001) surface at room temperature by the electron-beam evaporation of a pure Co metal source in an ultrahigh-vacuum transmission electron microscope. The formation and epitaxial growth of a cobalt germanide Co5Ge7 phase on the Ge (001) surface was studied in situ by gradually heating the sample from room temperature to ∼350°C. The occurrence of an epitaxial hexagonal-close-packed Co and the reaction between Co and Ge were observed at ∼225°C. After annealing at ∼300°C for 26.5 h, a continuous epitaxial Co5Ge7 film formed on the Ge (001) substrate. With further annealing at a higher temperature, the continuous Co5Ge7 layer broke up and formed three-dimensional islands in order to relieve the strain energy in the epitaxial Co5Ge7 layer. Two epitaxial relationships between Co5Ge7 and Ge, i.e., Co5Ge7⟨110⟩(001)∕∕Ge⟨100⟩(001) and Co5Ge7⟨001⟩(110)∕∕Ge⟨100⟩(001) were found by electron diffraction.