Transmission electron microscope study of the growth kinetics of TiSi2 epitaxy on (111)Si

Abstract
The kinetics of the growth of epitaxial TiSi2 on (111)Si and accompanying microstructural changes have been investigated by examining the same region of a thin foil repeatedly in a transmission electron microscope with intermittent annealings in a diffusion furnace. The evolution of the different modes of C54‐TiSi2 epitaxy was monitored. The dominance of the epitaxy with [101]TiSi2//[111]Si and (3̄13)TiSi2//(22̄0)Si (with about 1° deviation) was found to be due to a faster initial growth rate resulting in a much larger final size than that of the epitaxy with [100]TiSi2//[111]Si and (004)TiSi2//(022̄)Si. The difference in interface energy is conceived to be the dominant factor in affecting the epitaxial growth.