Direct epitaxial growth of θ-Ni_2Si by reaction of a thin Ni(10 at.% Pt) film with Si(100) substrate

摘要

The reaction between an 11 nm Ni(10 at.% Pt) film on a Si substrate has been examined by in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), atom probe tomography (APT) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In situ XRD experiments show the unusual formation of a phase without an XRD peak through consumption of the metal. According to APT, this phase has an Si concentration gradient in accordance with the θ-Ni_2Si metastable phase. TEM analysis confirms the direct formation of θ-Ni_2 Si in epitaxy on Si(100) with two variants of the epitaxial relationship.