We report spatially-resolved spectroscopic investigations on the effect of annealing a Pt (100 angstrom)/Si interface in the presence of a native silicon oxide layer. Scanning photoelectron microscopy showed a spatially non-uniform growth pattern of PtSi depending on the annealing temperature and annealing time. Pt 4f and Si 2p core-level spectra measured using different photon energies and at different points suggest both in-plane and out-of-plane inhomogeneous growth of PtSi at 773 K. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.