Lattice-Location Experiment of the Ni-Si Interface by Thin-Crystal Channeling of Helium Ions

Abstract

A thin-crystal channeling experiment has been devised to locate preferential sites of monolayers of Ni atoms deposited onto Si crystalline substrates. The Ni scattering yield shows dips or peaks in the angular scan measurements when channeled along the major crystallographic axes and planes of Si. The results can be explained by a dispersed Ni-Si interface with 2.1×${10}^{15}$ Ni atoms/${\mathrm{cm}}^2$ occupying the tetrahedral interstitial voids of Si.