Reaction mechanisms of Si/Pt systems under pulsed heat flow☆

Abstract Silicon-platinum reaction in a Si/Pt (100 nm) sample was observed at moderate (600 A cm −2 ) current density using a 25 keV-50 ns electron beam pulse. On the basis of a numerically solved heat diffusion equation, it is shown that the experimental results can be explained by assuming the formation of a liquidus at the interface which can be obtained either at low temperature, when the lowest eutectic temperature of the Si/Pt binary compound is reached, or at high temperature when a poor thermal contact exists between the Pt film and the Si substrate.