STABILITY OF RHENIUM THIN-FILMS AN SINGLE-CRYSTAL (001) BETA-SIC

Thermal reactions of Re thin films in contact with single crystalline (001) beta-SiC at temperatures between 700 and 1100 degrees C for 30 m in are investigated by MeV He++ backscattering spectrometry, x-ray dif fraction, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and transmission electron m icroscopy (plan-view and cross-sectional). No reaction between Re and SiC is observed for any annealing conditions. The average grain size o f the as-deposited Re film is 220 nm and increases to 280 nm after ann ealing at 1100 degrees C for 30 min. A strong {0001}(Re) fiber texture is also observed after annealing. The chemical stability of Re thin f ilms on SiC is consistent with the earlier study of solid-phase stabil ity in the ternary Re-Si-C system which shows that Re and its silicide s have tie lines with SiC at 1600 degrees C. It also coincides with ca lculations of the free energy of reaction from assessed thermodynamic data for rhenium silicides and SiC. The implications of this Re stabil ity with SiC for applications of Re as a metal for electrical contact to SiC-based devices are discussed.