Dynamics of laser-induced formation of palladium silicide

Abstract

The formation of palladium silicide by laser irradiation of a thin Pd film evaporated on single-crystal silicon has been studied. We used 18-ns pulses from a Q-switched Nd : YAG laser to induce the reaction. The process of laser-induced silicide formation takes place through interdiffusion of the molten elements, followed by thermal quenching. A diffusion constant of 4×10−4 cm2/s was estimated. The reacted layer was found to consist of a mixture of different metal-silicon compounds.