The research is a collaborative effort between Cornell University, University of California at San Diego, and AT&T Bell Laboratories. The research investigates ion- and thermal- induced transformations in germanium silicide and aluminide materials. The effort is a renewal award (DMR-8618761) for a grant that was highly productive (more than twenty five publications in the scientific literature and three Ph.D. degrees). The research has three thrusts: (1) heteroepitaxial growth of germanium silicide systems from amorphous alloys including ion-induced heteroepitaxy, and solid phase epitaxy with and without transport medium, (2) metal/germanium silicide reactions, (3) amorphous and metastable crystalline phase formation in aluminum/platinum and aluminum palladium systems. Ion beam irradiation and thermal annealing are used to investigate systems of multilayered and co-deposited materials. T^he primary analytical techniques are Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and electrical property measurements. The effort at Cornell emphasizes electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering; University of California at San Diego, x-ray diffraction and electrical characterization; AT&T Bell Laboratories, ion beam research. All three groups have capability in the area of specimen preparation.
