Nickel silicide (NiSi) is highly suitable for microsystem fabrication, exhibiting suitable mechanical properties and good resistance to bulk micromachining etchants. Conditions for the formation of nickel silicide by vacuum annealing thin films of nickel deposited on silicon substrates are investigated. Nickel silicide thin films formed using sputtered and evaporated nickel films were analysed using Auger electron spectroscopy, which has shown that evaporated thin films of nickel tend to form nickel silicide more readily and with less thermal effort.
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