DC magnetron sputtering technique was used to deposit reactive multilayered Al/Ni thin
films, which could be used as a self-propagating heating source to melt solder layers and thus
bond electrical components such as silicon wafer bonding applications. Performance of reactive
Al/Ni nanofoils was studied under 1D, 2D and 3D configurations using multiphysics based
numerical simulations. The flame speed was successfully modeled as a function of the chemical
reaction rate. The detailed chemical compositions have been obtained for the Al/Ni multilayered
foil. The performance of nanofoil was quantified in terms of temperature and species
distributions, and the flame speed. The numerical simulation proved that the heating from a
reactive nanofoil to the substrate was highly limited and localized. The use of a reactive nanofoil
as a local heating source may eliminate the need for excess equipment, and dramatically reduce
the total energy that is needed for bonding applications.