Prediction and characterization of compound phase formation at Ge-metal interfaces in thin film structures

Abstract First phase formation has been investigated in Ti-Ge, Pd-Ge and Zr-Ge thin film systems by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Ti 6 Ge 5 , Pd 2 Ge and ZrGe were found to form first. These results and experimental measurements from the literature are compared with the predictions of the effective heat of formation (EHF) model.