Evolution of the Ni0.9Pt0.1/Si system under annealing via nano-crystalline textured phases.

The reaction of a Ni 0.9 Pt 0.1 7 nm-thick thin film with the underlying Si(001) substrate as a function of the annealing temperature was studied using in situ XRD techniques as well as ex situ advanced XRD and TEM imaging on quenched samples. It was found that the Ni 0.9 Pt 0.1 /Si system initially evolves accordingly to diffusion controlled reactions via the development of nano-crystalline Ni-rich Ni 1 − x (Pt) Si x phases that combine the ability of fast kinetic growth and texture inheritance. The system remains then stable over some tens of degrees before Ni(Pt)Si nucleation occurs, once the related energetic barrier is overcome. It was additionally found that this newly observed phase sequence remains valid up to Ni 0.9 Pt 0.1 deposited layer thicknesses of about 16 nm, which is remarkable for such systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]