Deposition of Ni as contact on 4H-SiC has been investigated. Ni/4H-SiC samples were annealed at temperatures of 600, 800 and 950 degreesC for 30 min and were non-destructively characterized by soft X-ray emission spectroscopy (SXES) using synchrotron radiation as excitation. Si L-2,L-3 SXE showed the formation of Ni2Si for all annealing temperatures. The C K SXE indicated the formation of graphite and graphitic carbons at annealing temperatures of 950 degreesC and below 800 degreesC, respectively. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.