SILICIDE FORMATION BY MILLISECOND LASER PULSES

A metastable Pt-Si phase of approximately PtSi 2 stoichiometry has been formed by msec duration irradiation of Pt films on silicon with a free running Nd:YAG laser. The silicide forms epitaxially on (111) silicon, exhibits low (50–60 μΩcm) resistivity, and excellent surface smoothness. The alloying reaction occurs at the Pt-Si interface and proceeds towards the free Pt surface. Neither the composition nor the structure of the metastable phase corresponds to previously reported Pt-silicides.