The effect of prolonged annealing (10h) at low temperature (200°C) has been studied in 20-nmNi∕Si(100) samples using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and four-point probe techniques. We observed that at 200°C a considerable amount of Ni3Si2 and Ni31Si12 was formed. After 10h annealing at 200°C only a fraction of total amount of Ni has been converted into Ni3Si2 and Ni31Si12 phases and around 60% of nickel remains unreacted. Formation of the Ni3Si2 and Ni31Si12 silicides at 200°C is slow and seems to saturate after approximately 140×1015atoms∕cm2 . It is observed that after 2h annealing the amount of both silicides is almost equal to that after 10h annealing. After 10h annealing at 300°C there is no indication of either Ni3Si2 or Ni31Si12 , and all Ni was consumed and only the stable NiSi phase is detected.

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