Electron microscopic studies of internal gettering of nickel in silicon

Abstract

The internal gettering of nickel in (100) silicon wafers implanted with 2.5 ⊠ 1015 argon-ions/cm2 at 280 keV has been studied by electron microscopy. Nickel deposited on the back surface is gettered by forming a discontinuous layer of nickel silicide, NiSi2, in the argon-implanted region near the front surface. Electron microdiffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy indicate that the layers of nickel silicide probably grow epitaxially on the undamaged silicon surrounding the silicide.