Epitaxy of Ultrathin NiSi2 Films with Predetermined Thickness

Gao, Xindong; Andersson, Joakim; Kubart, Tomáš; Nyberg, Tomas; Smith, Ulf; Lu, Jun; Hultman, Lars; Kellock, A. J.; Zhang, Zhen; Lavoie, C.; Zhang, Shi-Li

doi:10.1149/1.3580618

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…As the silicide contacts in the state-of-the-art micro-electronics industry are trending to sub-10 nm thickness values, it is important to determine and control the exact value of the critical thickness which differentiates these two phase-formation regimes. Gao et al [14] recently reported on a biased-sputterdeposition strategy with pure Ni films, which increases the as-deposited mixed Ni/Si interface region and increases the maximum thickness of the formed epitaxial NiSi 2 films, thus increasing the critical thickness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling the formation and stability of ultra-thin nickel silicides - An alloying strategy for preventing agglomeration

Geenen

Stiphout

Nanakoudis

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Physics

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The electrical contact of the source and drain regions in state-of-the-art CMOS transistors is nowadays facilitated through NiSi, which is often alloyed with Pt in order to avoid morphological agglomeration of the silicide film. However, the solid-state reaction between as-deposited Ni and the Si substrate exhibits a peculiar change for as-deposited Ni films thinner than a critical thickness of t c =5 nm. Whereas thicker films form polycrystalline NiSi upon annealing above 450 • C, thinner films form epitaxial NiSi 2 films which exhibit a high resistance towards agglomeration. For industrial applications, it is therefore of utmost importance to assess the critical thickness with high certainty and find novel methodologies to either increase or decrease its value, depending on the aimed silicide formation. This paper investigates Ni films between 0 and 15 nm initial thickness by using of 'thickness gradients', which provide semi-continuous information on silicide formation and stability as a function of as-deposited layer thickness. The alloying of these Ni layers with 10 % Al, Co, Ge, Pd or Pt renders a significant change in the phase sequence as a function of thickness and dependent on the alloying element. The addition of these ternary impurities therefore change the critical thickness t c. The results are discussed in the framework of

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Controlling the formation and stability of ultra-thin nickel silicides - An alloying strategy for preventing agglomeration

Geenen

Stiphout

Nanakoudis

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Physics

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“…5 The deposition was carried out in an Ar atmosphere at 0.67 Pa. 5 The deposition was carried out in an Ar atmosphere at 0.67 Pa.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phase formation and film morphology of ultrathin Co1−xNixSi2 films

Zhu¹,

Gao²,

Piao³

et al. 2012

Journal of Vacuum Science &Amp; Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

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“…In order to advance the art, another novel step has been taken with the purpose to break the 1.6-nm thickness limit for the intermixed layer (26). In brief, the HiPIMS (high power impulse magnetron sputtering) technique is employed during metal deposition so as to ionize the sputtered Ni to a high degree.…”

Section: Reproducible Growth Of Ultrathin Silicide Filmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Invited) Ultrathin Ni_1-xPt_x Films as Electrical Contact in CMOS Devices

Zhang

2012

ECS Trans.

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Metal silicide films are likely to continue their function as electrical contact in CMOS devices beyond the 22-nm technology node. For such devices, the thickness of the silicide films is projected in the technology roadmap to be below 10 nm. Nickelbased silicides are among the most competitive choices for this application. For this family of silicides, the latest experimental investigations show that upon identical formation conditions (temperature and time), the phase, crystallinity, morphological stability, and thickness of resultant silicide films sensitively depend on the thickness and composition of initially deposited Ni1-xPtx layers. A proper understanding of these experimental observations is instrumental to design and control of ultrathin Ni1-xPtx silicide films with desired properties. In order to achieve low-resistivity electrical contact to Si, dopant segregation technique can be combined with SADS(silicide as diffusion source) processing to modify the Schottky barrier height between the silicide films and the underlying Si.

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Epitaxy of Ultrathin NiSi2 Films with Predetermined Thickness

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

Controlling the formation and stability of ultra-thin nickel silicides - An alloying strategy for preventing agglomeration

Controlling the formation and stability of ultra-thin nickel silicides - An alloying strategy for preventing agglomeration

Phase formation and film morphology of ultrathin Co1−xNixSi2 films

(Invited) Ultrathin Ni_1-xPt_x Films as Electrical Contact in CMOS Devices

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Epitaxy of Ultrathin NiSi2 Films with Predetermined Thickness

Cited by 22 publications

References 9 publications

Controlling the formation and stability of ultra-thin nickel silicides - An alloying strategy for preventing agglomeration

Controlling the formation and stability of ultra-thin nickel silicides - An alloying strategy for preventing agglomeration

Phase formation and film morphology of ultrathin Co1−xNixSi2 films

(Invited) Ultrathin Ni1-xPtx Films as Electrical Contact in CMOS Devices

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(Invited) Ultrathin Ni_1-xPt_x Films as Electrical Contact in CMOS Devices