About cookies on this site Our websites require some cookies to function properly (required). In addition, other cookies may be used with your consent to analyze site usage, improve the user experience and for advertising. For more information, please review your options. By visiting our website, you agree to our processing of information as described in IBM’sprivacy statement. To provide a smooth navigation, your cookie preferences will be shared across the IBM web domains listed here.
Publication
Journal of Applied Physics
Paper
Intermetallic compound formation in thin-film and in bulk samples of the Ni-Si binary system
Abstract
In this study, we attempt to clarify the difference between interdiffusion in thin-film and in bulk samples, and we have chosen the Ni-Si binary system for experimentation. A major difference is in the behavior of intermetallic compound formation; while the compounds form sequentially in thin films, they tend to appear simultaneously in bulk samples. The essence of sequential formation is the absence of the other stable phases during the growth of a specific one. We have used cross-sectional lattice imaging of the interface between a NiSi film and a Si to confirm the absence of NiSi2 at the interface. Other differences between the sequential growth of a compound in the thin-film Ni-Si samples and the simultaneous growth of several compounds in the bulk Ni-Si samples have been compared and discussed.