Surface Morphology of NiSi₂/Si Films Obtained by the Method of Solid-Phase Deposition

Abstract

Auger electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy are used to study the formation of epitaxial layers of NiSi₂ during Ni–Si deposition followed by annealing. It is shown that the formed NiSi₂ film has an island structure when its thickness is h ≤ 150 Å and at h ≥ 200 Å the film is continuous. The band gap of the island and solid films is ~0.6 eV, while the values of the resistivity ρ differ by several orders of magnitude. It is found that the photoelectron spectrum of the NiSi₂ film with h = 50 Å has peaks characteristic of both Si and NiSi₂. The formation of the main peaks in the photoelectron spectrum of NiSi₂ is explained by hybridization of the M₁, M₂, M₃ states of Si with the М₃, М₄, М₅ states of Ni.