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Effect of the substrate surface condition on the Ni(thin film)/SiC(0001) interfacial reaction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Cory R. Dean ,
Kevin Robbie  and
Lynnette D. Madsen
Cory R. Dean*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
Kevin Robbie
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada
Lynnette D. Madsen
Affiliation:
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. Present Address: Department of Physics, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 2T8, QC, Canada e-mail: deanc@physics.mcgill.ca
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Abstract

The effect of the substrate surface, structure, and chemistry on the interfacial interaction in Ni(thin film)/SiC was examined, with a focus on the recently discovered formation of a nickel intercalated graphite phase. Very thin Ni films (∼7 nm) were deposited onto heated 6H–SiC(0001) substrates prepared with: (i) an oxide layer, (ii) a surface reconstruction, and (iii) a pristine surface (no oxide and no reconstruction), followed by further annealing. Characterization using x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy revealed remarkable differences between the samples in terms of both surface morphology and crystallography. Nickel silicides were present in all samples; however, the phase composition differed depending on sample preparation. Furthermore, the pristine surface was the only one that clearly promoted the growth of the nickel graphite intercalation compound (Ni-GIC).

Keywords

NiIntercalationSurface reaction
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 22 , Issue 9 , September 2007 , pp. 2522 - 2530
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

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References

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