A strong influence of substrate crystallinity is observed for thin-film Co∕Ge reactions. For the detected phases (CoGe, Co5Ge7, and CoGe2), the formation temperatures on amorphous Ge (a-Ge) are found to be the lowest, while the highest are on single-crystalline Ge(100). Moreover, while the phase sequence on Ge(100) and polycrystalline Ge (poly-Ge) was unaltered, the formation of intermediate Co5Ge7 was not observed on a-Ge. It is likely that this is due to a promoted CoGe2 formation on a-Ge, resulting in a ∼200°C decrease in formation temperature (depending on the ramp rate). These observations suggest a strong competition among the formation of these Ge-rich phases.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.