Abstract
High resolution transmission electron microscopy in conjunction with optical diffractometry have been applied to identify the formation of an amorphous interlayer as well as to detect the presence of Ti 5 Si 3 , Ti 5 Si 4 , TiSi, and C49-TiSi 2 in the interfacial reactions of ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) deposited Ti thin films on atomically clean (111)Si. The discovery of the formation of an amorphous interlayer and as many as four different silicide phases in the initial stages of interfacial reactions of UHV deposited Ti thin films on silicon by high resolution techniques necessitates a modification of the existing theory of the silicide formation in thin-film reactions.