This book focuses on the mechanical properties of silicides for very large scale integration (VLSI) applications. It presents the fabrication process for bulk silicides and thin films, and list complete testing deformation for a variety of silicon based compounds. The author also presents dislocation in silicides, fatigue and fracture aspects. A special chapter is given on deformation in silicides in the nano scale. Composites and alloys are also considered.

Joshua Pelleg received his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering at the Technion-Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel¿ a M.Sc. in Metallurgy at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL and a Ph.D. in Metallurgy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI. He has been in the BenGurion University of the Negev (BGU) Materials Engineering Department in BeerSheva, Israel since 1970, and was among the founders of the department, and served as its second chairman. Professor Pelleg was the recipient of the Samuel Ayrton Chair in Metallurgy. He specializes in the mechanical properties of materials and the diffusion and defects in solids. He has chaired several university committees and served four terms as the Chairman of Advanced Studies at BenGurion University of the Negev. Prior to his work at BGU, Pelleg acted as Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor in the Department of Materials and Metallurgy at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS. Professor Pelleg was also a Visiting Professor: in the Department of Metallurgy at Iowa State University¿ at the Institute for Atomic Research, US Atomic Energy Commission, Ames, IA¿ at McGill University, Montreal, QC¿ at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Applied Electronics Department, Yokohama, Japan¿ and in Curtin University, Department of Physics, Perth, Australia. His nonacademic research and industrial experience includes: Chief Metallurgist in Urdan Metallurgical Works Ltd., Netanyah, Israel¿ Research Engineer in International Harvester Manufacturing Research, Chicago, IL¿ Associate Research Officer for the National Research Council of Canada, Structures and Materials, National Aeronautical Establishment, Ottawa, ON¿ Physics Senior Research Scientist, Nuclear Research Center, BeerSheva, Israel¿ Materials Science Division, Argonne National Labs, Argonne, IL¿ Atomic Energy ofCanada, Chalk River, ON¿ Visiting Scientist, CSIR, National Accelerator Centre, Van de Graaf Group Faure, South Africä Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, NJ¿ and GTE Laboratories, Waltham, MA. His current research interests are diffusion in solids, thin film deposition and properties (mostly by sputtering) and the characterization of thin films, among them various silicides.

What are the silicides.- Structure.- Fabrication.- Testing Deformation.- Dislocations in silicides.- Time Dependent Deformation - Creep in Silicides.- Fatigue in Silicides.-  Fracture in Silicides.- Deformation in Nano Silicides.-  The Effect of B.- Silicide Composites.- Alloying in Silicides.- Grain Size Effect on Mechanical Properties.