Surface Morphology of NiSi2/Si Films Obtained by the Method of Solid-Phase Deposition

Abstract

Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy are used to study the formation of epitaxial layers of NiSi2 during Ni–Si deposition followed by annealing. It is shown that the formed NiSi2 film has an island structure when its thickness is h ≤ 150 A and at h ≥ 200 A the film is continuous. The band gap of the island and solid films is ~0.6 eV, while the values of the resistivity ρ differ by several orders of magnitude. It is found that the photoelectron spectrum of the NiSi2 film with h = 50 A has peaks characteristic of both Si and NiSi2. The formation of the main peaks in the photoelectron spectrum of NiSi2 is explained by hybridization of the M1, M2, M3 states of Si with the М3, М4, М5 states of Ni.