Enhancement of thermal stability of NiSi films on (100)Si and (111)Si by Pt addition

The effect of a small amount of Pt (5 at. %) on the thermal stability of NiSi film on (100) and (111) Si substrates has been investigated both by in situ annealing inside an x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy system and by ex situ rapid thermal annealing. The addition of platinum increases the disilicide nucleation temperature to 900 °C leading to a better stability of NiSi at high temperatures. In the presence of Pt, NiSi films on both (111)Si and (100)Si substrates develop a texture with the relationship (100)NiSi∥(111)Si and (010)NiSi∥(100)Si. The increase in thermal stability has been explained in terms of the nucleation concept.