An curvature measurement technique was used to characterize the stress evolution during reaction of a Ni film and a silicon substrate to form nickel silicide. Stress changes were measured at each stage of the silicide growth. When the nickel films were subjected to long-time isothermal annealing, stresses that developed during silicide formation gradually relaxed. Fitting the experimental results with a kinetic model provides insight into the volumetric strain and relaxation behavior of the reacting film and the reaction product. / Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA)

This contribution addresses recent advances in the experimental investigation of the phase stability, microstructural integrity and stress evolution of metal/metal (Cu/W) [1] and metal/ceramic (Ag/AlN, Ag60wt.%Cu40at.%/AlN, AgGe10at% /AlN) NML coatings during heating by advanced in-situ diffraction methods in combination with XPS, SEM and TEM analysis.