Nickel, Platinum and Zirconium Germanosilicide Contacts to Ultra-shallow, P+N Junctions Formed by Selective SiGe Technology for CMOS Technology Nodes Beyond 70nm

Abstract

AbstractSelective SiGe source/drain technology based on selective deposition of in-situ doped SiGe alloys in recessed source/drain regions can provide junctions with low sheet and contact resistance as well as abrupt doping profiles. This paper examines properties of Ni, Pt and Zr germanosilicides on heavily boron doped SiGe junctions. Our results show that all three metals can form low resistivity germanosilicides on heavily boron doped SiGe alloys. The stability of Ni germanosilicide was found to be limited to about 400°C on undoped SiGe. On heavily boron doped SiGe thermal stability was found to be significantly better possibly due to boron strain compensation. Our findings indicate that on undoped SiGe, thermal stability of Ni germanosilicide could be much enhanced by using a thin Pt interlayer. According to X-ray diffraction analysis, with increasing formation temperature, both Ni and Pt germanosilicides moved toward Ni and Pt monosilicides with signs of excess Ge appearing outside the contact. Analysis of the Pt germanosilicide layers is suggestive of a Ge rich SiGe layer under the germanosilicide. Boron diffusion into Pt and Ni germanosilicides was not observed. On the other hand, a distinct boron peak was observed in Zr germanosilicide suggestive of a stable Zr-B compound. Ultra-shallow junctions with excellent reverse bias behavior were formed using both Ni and Zr germanosilicides.