Interface alloying due to Kr-irradiation on Ni/Si system

This study deals with an investigation of silicide formation at the interface of Ni thin film and Si substrate induced by 300 keV 84Kr2+ ions at a number of doses under ambient condition. The implanted samples were subsequently annealed using a rapid thermal annealing system (RTA) in vacuum environment. The modification of the interface and surface properties has been analyzed using various methods like scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDAX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), etc. The energy dispersive X-ray spectra (EDS) show a decrease of Ni content in the samples with increasing dose, which indicates the sputter erosion due to ion irradiation. The SEM micrographs show no considerable surface modification under ion bombardment but the XRD spectra clearly reveal the formation of different phases of Ni2Si and NiSi at lower doses which transforms to NiSi as dose increases.