Microstructural and electronic properties of Ni thin films grown on p-InP (100) substrates

Ion beam-assisted deposition of Ni on p-InP (100) at room temperature was performed in order to produce Ni thin films with high quality and Ni/p-InP (100) heterostructures with abrupt heterointerfaces. An atomic force microscopy image showed that the root mean square of the average surface roughness of the Ni film was 21.3 Angstrom, and x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements show that Ni film layers grown on InP (100) substrates were polycrystalline. Auger electron spectroscopy and TEM measurements showed that Ni films grown on p-InP (100) substrates at room temperature had no significant interdiffusion problems. The work function of the Ni thin film was determined from the secondary electron emission coefficients obtained with a focused ion beam. These results provide important information on the microstructural and electronic properties for Ni thin films grown on p-InP (100) substrates at room temperature. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.