Effects of Sb on phase transformations of amorphous TiSi2 thin films

Co‐deposited amorphous TiSi2 thin films with various Sb concentrations were prepared in order to study the effects of Sb on TiSi2 phase transformations. The crystallization behavior of the films was investigated by in situ annealing in a transmission electron microscope. The phase transformation from C49 TiSi2 to C54 TiSi2 in the films was examined with x‐ray diffraction. It was observed that incorporation of Sb resulted in a higher crystallization temperature of the amorphous TiSi2 film and a lower crystal growth rate. The activation energies for the crystal growth during the crystallization were determined to be 1.37, 1.62, 1.63, and 1.87 eV (±0.07 eV) for the films with 0, 0.3, 1.3, and 2.5 at. % Sb, respectively. For the C49→C54 transformation, it was, however, observed that the activation energy decreased when the Sb content increased. These indicate that the Sb incorporation in TiSi2 retards the crystallization of the amorphous TiSi2 film, but enhances the transformation from C49 TiSi2 to C54 TiSi2.