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Interdiffusion coefficients and conductivity in gold/nickel bilayer thin films on silicon(111) wafers
Author(s) -
AbdulLettif A. M.,
Rammo N. N.,
Makadsi M. N.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.1020
Subject(s) - x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , nickel , wafer , annealing (glass) , analytical chemistry (journal) , silicon , sheet resistance , bilayer , thin film , materials science , atmospheric temperature range , conductivity , diffusion , chemistry , layer (electronics) , metallurgy , nanotechnology , nuclear magnetic resonance , membrane , thermodynamics , biochemistry , physics , chromatography
Interdiffusion in the gold/nickel bilayer thin films deposited on silicon(111) wafers in the temperature range 200–500 °C has been studied using x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), sheet resistance measurements (SRM) and x‐ray diffraction. Two independent methods have been used to determine the diffusion coefficients: the accumulation concentration of nickel on the gold surface using XPS; and the variation of sheet resistance as a function of annealing time and temperature. The diffusion coefficients deduced from XPS and SRM are (4.0 × 10 −11 cm 2 s −1 ) exp(−0.79 eV/kT) and (4.8 × 10 −11 cm 2 s −1 ) exp(−0.83 eV/kT), respectively. It is shown that diffusion of nickel through the gold layer causes a considerable loss in conductivity of the bilayer thin films. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.