INTERFACIAL REACTIONS IN THE A-SI1-XGEX-H CR/QUARTZ SYSTEM/

X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and Auger electron sp ectroscopy were used to study the phase formation and kinetics of inte rfacial reactions in the a-Si1-xGex:H/Cr/quartz system after heating t o 300-800 degrees C by rapid thermal annealings or vacuum annealings f or 10s-12h. We used amorphous Si1-xGex films of various compositions: x=0, 0.3, 0.8, and 1.0, deposited by glow discharge over Cr-covered fu sed quartz substrates. No reaction between Cr and SiGe:H in the system was detected up to 400 degrees C. We found that the Ge-rich films wer e more reactive with the Cr underlayer than the Si-rich films. The mai n reaction product of the SiGe and Cr interaction was Cr4Ge3.