Multiple heterostructures of Ni2Si/Si formed by the point contact reaction

Abstract

The high quality multiple heterostructures of Ni2Si/Si in a nanowire of Si can be formed by using the point contact reaction between several Ni nanodots and a Si nanowire carried out in-situ in an ultrahigh vacuum transmission electron microscopy. The fabricated multi-nano-heterostructures may enhance the development of circuit elements in nano-scale electronic devices. The unusual tetragonal Ni2Si (I4/mcm) phase rather than the commonly observed HCP Ni2Si (P63/m) was identified in the multiple heterostructures of Ni2Si/Si with the existence of surface oxide. The corresponding electronic structure and kinetic paths of phase transformations will be simulated and discussed.