Metal Silicon Reactions Induced by CW Scanned Laser and Electron Beams

Abstract
Scanned CW‐laser and electron beams have been utilized to react thin metal films of Pd, Pt, Mo, W, and Nb deposited by electron beam evaporation onto single crystal silicon substrates to form silicides. Formation of large area uniform layers of or is controlled by selection of the power level of the scanning laser or electron beam. Single phase , , and are also found after CW‐beam reaction. For the Pt/Si system mixed phase silicides are found after CW‐laser reaction with a superconducting metastable compound, , observed as the dominant phase. In contrast, single‐phase is found after electron‐beam reaction. Comparison is also made with electron beam evaporated films and argon sputter‐deposited films.