Thickness Effect of a Ge Interlayer on the Formation of Nickel Silicides

Abstract

We have investigated the thickness effect of Ge interlayers on the formation of nickel silicides as a function of the rapid-thermal-annealing temperature by means of glancing angle X-ray diffraction and scanning transmission electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry. It is shown that the insertion of 2 and thick Ge interlayers between Ni films and Si substrates leads to an increase of the nucleation temperature for by higher than . The increased nucleation temperature could be related to the formation of in the interface regions between the films and Si substrates. It is further shown that the morphological degradation of the samples with interlayers is more severe than that of the samples without interlayers. The interlayer dependence of the structural changes of Ni silicide films is described and discussed in terms of surface energy and Ge diffusion behavior.