Rapid self-assembly of Ni nanodots on Si substrate covered by a less-adhesive and heat-accumulated SiO2 layers

Rapid self-aggregation of Ni nanodots on Si substrate covered with a thin SiO2 buffered layer is investigated. The Ni nanodots can hardly self-aggregate on highly heat-dissipated Si substrate with a thermal conductivity of 148 W/m K. Adding a 200-A-thick SiO2 buffer with an ultralow thermal conductivity of 1.35 W/m K prevents the formation of NiSi2 compounds, enhances the heat accumulation, and releases the adhesion at Ni/Si interface, which greatly accelerates the self-assembly of Ni nanodots. Dense Ni nanodots with size and density of 30 nm and 7x10(10) cm(-2), respectively, can be formatted after rapid thermal annealing at 850 degrees C for 22 s. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.