Extraction of the minimum specific contact resistivity using Kelvin resistors

Abstract

A comparison of two types of commonly used Kelvin resistors based on numerical simulation of the specific contact resistivity is presented. The minimum contact resistivity that can be extracted is shown to depend on device type, registration tolerance, contact size, and contact misalignment. Analog models are shown to provide good agreement with the results of the simulations, and equations for estimating the minimum contact resistivity are provided as guidelines for designing minimum-geometry Kelvin resistors.