Iron silicide thin film formation at low temperatures

• Published in: Thin solid films Vol. 25; no. 2; pp. 415 - 422
• Main Authors: Lau, S.S., Feng, J.S.-Y., Olowolafe, J.O., Nicolet, M.-A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.02.1975
• ISSN: 0040-6090; 1879-2731
• DOI: 10.1016/0040-6090(75)90059-0

The rate kinetics of the formation of compound phases from thin layers of 1000–1500 Å α-Fe deposited onto single-crystal Si have been studied by MeV 4He + backscattering spectrometry. Si is observed to dissolve into the thin α-Fe layer before compound formation. A compound layer of FeSi is produced at about 450°C and FeSi 2 formation begins at about 550°C. The (100) surface of Si is slightly more reactive than the (111) surface. An inert diffusion marker of implanted Xe was used to investigate the relative movement of the two species. X-ray diffractometry identifies the structure of the compound species as identical to bulk FeSi and FeSi 2. The compounds formed on both (111) n-Si and (100) n-Si are apparently polycrystalline and untextured.