High-Temperature and Anodic Oxidation of Thin NiSi and NiSi2 Films

The high-temperature and anodic oxidation of thin NiSi and NiSi2 films produced by thermal annealing of Ni film on single-crystalline silicon is studied. Both types of oxidation lead to the formation of thin protective SiO2 layers. The high-temperature oxidation of NiSi films begins at 930 K, which is 100 K lower than that of NiSi2 films. When temperature increases, the mass increment of NiSi films becomes greater than that of NiSi2 films. This difference is three times as great at 1273 K, which is due to the difference in structure and stoichiometry. It is shown that the electrochemical corrosion resistance of films increases from Ni to NiSi and to NiSi2.