We have investigated the epitaxial formation and electrical properties of Ni germanide/Ge(110) contacts. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements have revealed that Ni5Ge3 and NiGe layers are epitaxially formed on a Ge(110) substrate after annealing at 200-350 degrees C. An epitaxial Ni5Ge3 layer is formed after annealing with the relationships Ni5Ge3(001)//Ge(110) and Ni5Ge3[311]//Ge[001]. We found that the orientation relationship between an epitaxial NiGe layer and Ge(110) substrate depends on the annealing temperature. When annealed at 300-350 degrees C, the orientation relationship is NiGe(100)//Ge(110) and NiGe[001]//Ge[001], while at 200-230 degrees C, the relationship is NiGe(102)//Ge(110) and NiGe[010]//Ge[001]. We demonstrate that the Schottky barrier height of the epitaxial NiGe(100)/Ge(110) contact is as low as 0.44eV, as estimated from the current density-voltage characteristics, while that of polycrystalline NiGe/Ge(001) is 0.55 eV. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.