High Performance Submicrometer CMOS with Metal Induced Lateral Crystallization of Amorphous Silicon

Abstract

In this work, we report high performance, 0.1 μm complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistors fabricated in a single grain of recrystallized silicon, at low temperatures. Metal induced crystallization (MIC) of amorphous silicon (α-Si) thin film and dopant activation was achieved simultaneously using nickel with a peak processing temperature of 500°C. The n-channel metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (n-MOS) and p-channel-MOS (p-MOS) devices with width/length of 0.3/0.1 μm show on-currents of 150 and 100 μA/μm, respectively, at a of 2 V, without any optimization. These transistors are some of the best devices fabricated using MIC with 500°C limitation of processing temperature. They show excellent on-currents, subthreshold slope, and on/off current ratio with a simple device structure. They constitute a promising step toward matching the performance of bulk-Si CMOS. © 2003 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.