In-situ characterization of ultrathin nickel silicides using 3D medium-energy ion scattering

We demonstrate a novel approach for non-destructive in-situ characterization of phase transitions of ultrathin nickel silicide films using 3D medium-energy ion scattering. The technique provides simultaneously composition and real-space crystallography of silicide films during the annealing process using a single sample. We show, for 10 nm Ni films on Si, that their composition follows the normal transition sequence, such as Ni-Ni2Si-NiSi. For samples with initial Ni thickness of 3 nm, depth-resolved crystallography using a position-sensitive detector, shows that the Ni film transform from an as-deposited disordered layer to epitaxial silicide layers at a relatively low temperature of ~290 {\deg}C.