Initial Interaction of Crystalline Al/Amorphous Si Bilayer during Annealing

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ABSTRACTInitial interaction of a magnetron sputter deposited Al(100 nm, {111} fibre textured)/Si(150 nm, amorphous) bilayer, induced by isothermally annealing at 523 K for 60 min in a vacuum of 2.0×10−4 Pa, was studied by X-ray diffraction, Auger electron microscopy and focused-ion beam imaging techniques. Upon annealing, the crystalline Si had grown into the grain boundaries of the Al layer with a {111} texture, a crystallite size of approximate 12 nm and a tensile stress of +138 MPa. Simultaneously, the Al grains had grown into the Si layer from the original interface of the a-Si and Al sublayers with the lateral grain growth. The stress parallel to the surface of the Al layer had changed from +27 MPa to +232 MPa after annealing.