Room-temperature synthesis of copper germanide phase by ion beam mixing

Abstract

This letter reports room-temperature synthesis by ion beam mixing of the ε1-Cu3Ge phase which is a promising candidate for interconnect and contact material in very large scale integrated circuit technology. The resistivity of the mixed sample was found to be nearly the same as the one obtained from thermally prepared films. We briefly discuss the likely mechanisms of phase formation and conclude that reaction kinetics dominates over thermodynamic forces during phase formation. The sequence of phase formation is explained by effective heat of formation rule.