The formation of titanium silicide by arsenic ion beam mixing and rapid thermal annealing

Abstract

The reaction of titanium thin films with n+ doped single crystal silicon induced by As+ ion beam irradiation and subsequent rapid thermal annealing has been studied. Arsenic doping in the silicon substrate retards the thermal growth of silicide resulting in an incomplete conversion of the titanium into titanium disilicide during low temperature (∼600 °C) rapid thermal annealing under a nitrogen ambient. High energy As+ion beam irradiation (90–170 keV) prior to the rapid thermal annealing leads to intermixing of the titanium and silicon which, at sufficiently high energy and dosage, results in complete conversion of titanium to a silicide phase. Subsequent rapid thermal annealing of the ion beam irradiated samples induces further uptake of silicon into the silicide phase leading to the formation of the stable C-54 titanium disilicide phase. However, very little additional titanium consumption occurs during the thermal annealing. The silicide formed by the ion beam mixing process shows superior sheet resistance uniformity and has a smoother morphology compared to thermally grown silicide. The uniformity of the silicidation reaction by ion beam mixing also leads to superior n+p junction characteristics.