Defect-Free Erbium Silicide Formation Using an Ultrathin Ni Interlayer

An ultrathin Ni interlayer (∼1 nm) was introduced between a TaN-capped Er film and a Si substrate to prevent the formation of surface defects during thermal Er silicidation. A nickel silicide interfacial layer formed at low temperatures and incurred uniform nucleation and the growth of a subsequentl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ACS applied materials & interfaces 2014-08, Vol.6 (16), p.14712-14717
Main Authors: Choi, Juyun, Choi, Seongheum, Kang, Yu-Seon, Na, Sekwon, Lee, Hoo-Jeong, Cho, Mann-Ho, Kim, Hyoungsub
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:An ultrathin Ni interlayer (∼1 nm) was introduced between a TaN-capped Er film and a Si substrate to prevent the formation of surface defects during thermal Er silicidation. A nickel silicide interfacial layer formed at low temperatures and incurred uniform nucleation and the growth of a subsequently formed erbium silicide film, effectively inhibiting the generation of recessed-type surface defects and improving the surface roughness. As a side effect, the complete transformation of Er to erbium silicide was somewhat delayed, and the electrical contact property at low annealing temperatures was dominated by the nickel silicide phase with a high Schottky barrier height. After high-temperature annealing, the early-formed interfacial layer interacted with the growing erbium silicide, presumably forming an erbium silicide-rich Er–Si–Ni mixture. As a result, the electrical contact property reverted to that of the low-resistive erbium silicide/Si contact case, which warrants a promising source/drain contact application for future high-performance metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors.
ISSN:1944-8244
1944-8252
DOI:10.1021/am503626g