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Thickness Effect on the Solid-State Reaction of a Ni/GaAs System

Selma Rabhi, Nouredine Oueldna Orcid Logo, Carine Perrin-Pellegrino, Alain Portavoce, Karol Kalna Orcid Logo, Mohamed Cherif Benoudia Orcid Logo, Khalid Hoummada

Nanomaterials, Volume: 12, Issue: 15, Start page: 2633

Swansea University Author: Karol Kalna Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/nano12152633

Abstract

Ni thin films with different thicknesses were grown on a GaAs substrate using the magnetron sputtering technique followed by in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) annealing in order to study the solid-state reaction between Ni and GaAs substrate. The thickness dependence on the formation of the intermetal...

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Published in: Nanomaterials
ISSN: 2079-4991
Published: MDPI AG 2022
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa61169
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Abstract: Ni thin films with different thicknesses were grown on a GaAs substrate using the magnetron sputtering technique followed by in situ X-ray diffraction (XRD) annealing in order to study the solid-state reaction between Ni and GaAs substrate. The thickness dependence on the formation of the intermetallic phases was investigated using in situ and ex situ XRD, pole figures, and atom probe tomography (APT). The results indicate that the 20 nm-thick Ni film exhibits an epitaxial relation with the GaAs substrate, which is (001) Ni//(001) GaAs and [111] Ni//[110] GaAs after deposition. Increasing the film’s thickness results in a change of the Ni film’s texture. This difference has an impact on the formation temperature of Ni3GaAs. This temperature decreases simultaneously with the thickness increase. This is due to the coherent/incoherent nature of the initial Ni/GaAs interface. The Ni3GaAs phase decomposes into the binary and ternary compounds xNiAs and Ni3−xGaAs1−x at about 400 °C. Similarly to Ni3GaAs, the decomposition temperature of the second phase also depends on the initial thickness of the Ni layer.
Keywords: solid-state reaction; thickness; Ni-thin films; III-IV semi-conductors; in situ X-ray diffraction; intermetallic growth
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: This research was funded by Campus France PHC Toubkal—grant number: TBK 18/65, PHC Tassili—grant number: 7MDU994, and “The APC was funded by Aix-Marseille University”.
Issue: 15
Start Page: 2633