Compound formation at the interaction of Pd with strained layers of Si1−xGex epitaxially grown on Si(100)

Abstract
The interaction of thin Pd films deposited on strained layers of Si1−xGex epitaxially grown on Si(100) was studied. The Ge concentration in the molecular beam epitaxy grown Si1−xGex films was x=0.16, and their thickness 2300 Å. A highly textured ternary compound (Pd2Si1−yGey) formed concurrently with the PdGe phase, at annealing temperatures between 200 and 550 °C. Above 500 °C, a region of Si1−xGex alloy with high Ge concentration formed between the fully reacted compound and the unreacted Si1−xGex layer.