Enhanced formation of periodic arrays of low-resistivity NiSi nanocontacts on (0Â 0Â 1)Si0.7Ge0.3 by nanosphere lithography with a thin interposing Si layer

► Enhanced growth of low-resistivity NiSi nanodot arrays on (0 0 1)Si0.7Ge0.3 has been achieved by using a novel Ni/amorphous-Si(a-Si) bilayer nanodot structure. ► The size, interspacing, and shape of the low-resistivity NiSi nanodots remain almost unchanged even after annealing as high as 800 °C. ► The presence of the a-Si interlayer was found to effectively prevent Ge segregation and maintain the interface stability in forming NiSi nanodots on Si0.7Ge0.3 substrate. ► 10-45 nm-diameter amorphous SiOx nanowires were found to grow on the 900 °C annealed nanodots sample.