Abstract
As + -ion-induced silicide formation in nickel thin films on silicon was investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy. The emphasis was on the study of ion-beam-induced microstructural changes. For 160 keV As + implantation, amorphization of the interface occurred at a dose of 5 × 10 14 cm -2 . Ni 2 Si was found together with an amorphous layer after a 1 × 10 15 cm -2 bombardment. For Ni/Si(100) the surface layer became completely amorphous after implantation to 5 × 10 15 cm -2 . Silicides were found after a 1 × 10 16 cm -2 irradiation. The amorphous layer was not stable enough to withstand the enormous chemical driving force causing the formation of crystalline silicides as the composition ratio N Si /N Ni reached a critical value. A similar trend for ion-beam-induced reactions was found for 190 keV As + implantation on Ni/Si(111) as for 160 keV implantation. The results of post-implantation annealing showed major differences from those obtained for directly annealed samples. © 1983.