Electroless Ni-P and Ni-W-P films as a barrier for thermostimulated diffusion of gold into semiconductor

Amorphous electroless Ni-P films rich in phosphorus content were shown to be better diffusion barrier to the thermostimulated diffusion of gold into substrates than vacuum deposited pure nickel films the same thickness. The authors of the present paper are quite experienced in theory and practice of electroless deposition of metal films differing in their composition and structure. Among the electroless films the amorphous ones have a significant place, being of interest primarily for their specific microstructure and the resulting behavior in diffusion and corrosion process or on heating. Thus the paper is concerned with some new findings on the regularities of thermostimulated gold diffusion in amorphous and crystalline Ni-P and amorphous Ni-W-P films.