Stability of interfaces in gold-silicon system regarding equilibrium segregation

The Si/Au system has been intensively studied for its application in the field of microelectronics. This paper presents results obtained on segregation and interaction phenomena in such a system for a range of temperature below the eutectic (363°C). Investigations were performed using two complementary techniques: Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The importance of the microstructure on the segregation phenomenon is shown. Indeed, the driving force of the gold/poly-silicon system evolution is silicon recrystallization followed by superficial silicon segregation on silicon-gold mixture even at very low temperatures. © Les Éditions de Physique 1997.