In this study, an electroplating method to deposited Ni, crystalline NiW(c-NiW), amorphous NiW (a-NiW) films on P-type Si(1 0 0) were used to form Ni-silicide (NiSi) films. After annealed at various temperatures, sheet resistance of Ni/Cu, c-NiW/Cu and a-NiW/Cu was measured to observe the performance of those diffusion barrier layers. With W added in the barrier layer, the barrier performance was improved. The results of XRD and resistance measurement of the stacked Si/Ni(W)/Cu films reveal that Cu atom could diffuse through Ni barrier layer at 450 degrees C, could diffuse through c-NiW at 550 degrees C, but could hardly diffuse through a-NiW barrier layer. c-NiW layer has a better barrier performance than Ni layer, meanwhile the resistance is lower than a-NiW layer. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.