Dissolution of amorphous silicon into solid aluminum

Metal films are known to dissolve crystalline semiconductors at temperatures well below the eutectic temperature. Dissolution and transport of common semiconductors in contact with Au films have been demonstrated at room temperature. 1 The solid AI metallization used in electronic devices is known to dissolve troublesome quantities of crystalline Si after heat treatment at 400oC.2 Metal films are also known to dissolve amorphous semiconductors. Because of the high free energy associated with disorder, amorphous semiconductors are expected to have a higher driving energy for dissolution than crystalline semiconductors. The present investigation examines the dissolution at the amorphous Si-solid-Al interface. The results are then related to problems in solid-phase epitaxy (SPE).