Influence of alloying elements on the formation and stability of NiSi

We demonstrate that the addition of alloying elements can substantially affect the formation and morphological stability of nickel suicide. A comprehensive study of phase formation was performed on 24 Ni alloys with varying alloying element concentrations. Using time resolved x-ray diffraction (XRD), we follow the formation of the suicide phases in real time during rapid thermal annealing. Simultaneous in situ resistance and light scattering measurements complement the XRD technique and show the onset of thermal degradation for the monosilicide films. copyright The Electrochemical Society.