Structural changes during the reaction of Ni thin films with (100) silicon substrates

Thron, Andrew M.; Greene, Peter K.; Liu, Kai; Benthem, Klaus van

doi:10.1016/j.actamat.2012.01.033

Cited by 28 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Prior to metal film deposition a 12 nm SiO 2 thick layer was thermally grown on the (100) surface of silicon substrates to avoid silicide formation [20].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-sectional characterization of the dewetting of a Au/Ni bilayer film

et al. 2017

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The solid state dewetting of Au/Ni bilayer films was investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy techniques, including energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, electron energy-loss spectroscopy and precession electron diffraction. After annealing under high vacuum conditions the early stage of film agglomeration revealed significant changes in film morphology and chemical distribution. Both Au and Ni showed texturing. Despite the initial deposition sequence of the as-deposited Au/Ni/SiO/Si interface structure, the majority of the metal/SiO interface was Au/SiO after annealing at 675°C for 1h. Void nucleation was predominantly observed at Au/Ni/SiO triple junctions, rather than grain boundary grooving at free surface of the metal film. Detailed cross-sectional characterization reveals that the Au/Ni interface in addition to small amounts of metal alloying strongly affects film break-up and agglomeration kinetics. The formation of Au/SiO interface sections is found to be energetically preferred over Ni/SiO due to compressive stress in the as-deposited Ni layer. Void nucleation is observed at the film/substrate interface, while the formation of voids at Ni/Au phase boundaries inside the metal film is caused by the Kirkendall effect.

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“…Prior to metal film deposition a 12 nm SiO 2 thick layer was thermally grown on the (100) surface of silicon substrates to avoid silicide formation [20].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-sectional characterization of the dewetting of a Au/Ni bilayer film

et al. 2017

Self Cite

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“…The Ni thin film, with a thickness in the range of 0.3-1.2 nm, is annealed at temperatures of 600 K, 800 K, 1000 K and 1200 K. Ni-Ni, Si-Si and Ni-Si interactions are described using the Tersoff [34], MEAM [35] and LJ potentials [36], respectively. Note that the LJ pair potential does not allow to correctly describe physical / chemical processes such as Ni-atom diffusion into the Si substrate or the formation of Ni-silicide [38][39][40]. Therefore, to avoid an unphysical diffusion of Ni atoms and an evaporation of Si atoms at high temperatures, the substrate atoms are immobilized during the simulation.…”

Section: Simulation Detailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoscale mechanisms of CNT growth and etching in plasma environment

Khalilov¹,

Bogaerts²,

Hussain³

et al. 2017

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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Plasma-enhanced chemical deposition (PECVD) of carbon nanotubes has already been shown to allow chirality control to some extent. In PECVD, however, etching may occur simultaneously with the growth, and the occurrence of intermediate processes further significantly complicates the growth process. We here employ a computational approach with experimental support to study the plasmabased formation of Ni nanoclusters, Ni-catalyzed CNT growth and subsequent etching processes, in order to understand the underpinning nanoscale mechanisms. We find that hydrogen is the dominant factor in both the restructuring of a Ni film and the subsequent appearance of Ni nanoclusters, as well as in the CNT nucleation and etching processes. The obtained results are compared with available theoretical and experimental studies and provide a deeper understanding of the occurring nanoscale mechanisms in plasma-assisted CNT nucleation and growth.

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“…SSD is incurred due to material fracture in the machining of single crystal silicon. When brittle material is subjected to extreme pressure such as exerted by fine abrasives with diamond, the fracture is generated [25][26][27]. SSD should be eliminated in order to improve the performance and lifetime of optical components by means of polishing techniques [28,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%