Abstract
Effects of stress on the formation and growth of nickel silicides in Ni thin films on (0 0 1)Si have been investigated. Compressive stress induced by backside SiO 2 film on the silicon substrate was found to retard significantly the formation of Ni 2 Si, NiSi and NiSi 2 on (0 0 1)Si. On the other hand, tensile stress induced by backside Si 3 N 4 and CoSi 2 films was found to enhance the formation of nickel silicides on (0 0 1)Si. The thickness of growing nickel silicide thin films was found to increase and decrease with tensile and compressive stress level, respectively. The effects of stress on the formation and growth of nickel silicides are attributed to the variation in the diffusion of nickel atoms through Ni/Si and nickel silicide/Si interfaces. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.