Advanced coatings and thin films often exhibit a complex composition of several atomic species. The distribution, redistribution, diffusive and reactive properties of the individual species as well as their cooperative motion upon thermal agitation, has a distinct influence on overall thin film properties.

X-ray diffraction (XRD), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and sheet resistance measurements have proven most valuable in the study of thin film properties as a function of thermal treatment. Conventionally, several specimens are subjected to different heat treatments and subsequently analyzed one by one for a complete overview of the response of a thin film to thermal annealing. Because of the discrete character of this approach, however, critical stages for the understanding of the development of thin film properties are easily overlooked. This problem is avoided by determining the specimen properties in real time, i.e. during annealing. Additionally, real-time measurements drastically decrease the workload, as kinetic parameters, for example, can be obtained from a single ramped annealing, while numerous specimens have to be analyzed in the conventional approach.

To illustrate the strength and complementarity of these real-time techniques, we will present some examples of (ternary) silicide and germanide thin film growth by thermal annealing. We will illustrate that (i) the combination of real-time XRD, RBS and sheet resistance measurements allows to investigate the initial (nucleation controlled) as well as the advanced (diffusion controlled) stages of Co_1-xNi_xSi₂ formation, (ii) the real-time determination of Pt (re)distribution during Ni(Pt)Si formation reveals the influence of impurities on texture development and (iii) a complete understanding of the Pd-germanide formation process on different Ge surfaces can only be obtained by combining real-time XRD and RBS results.