In situ X-ray diffraction measurements of silicide formation in the CoSi system

In-situ resistivity vs. temperature, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed in order to study the effects arising from the presence of oxygen in the annealing ambient on the integrity of amorphous films of TiSix, with x ranging from 1.45 to 2.1. Crystalisation occurs around 400 C. The presence of oxygen produces the formation of silicon and titanium oxide around 500 C. Critical analysis of the experimental results have indicated that metal oxidation is inhibited when an excess of silicon is present, which suggests the use of a sputtered Si coating cap as a medium capable of effectively decoupling the silicide film from oxygen. This avoids unwanted Ti oxidation even in heavily oxygen contaminated ambients up to the highest temperatures used for the formation of low resistivity titanium disilicide.

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In situ and Ex situ Measurements of Stress Evolution in the Cobalt-Silicon System

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-611-c6.3.1 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 611 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

G. Lucadamo ◽

C. Lavoie ◽

C. Cabral ◽

R. A. Carruthers ◽

J.M.E. Harper

Keyword(s):

Room Temperature ◽

Biaxial Stress ◽

Ex Situ ◽

Silicide Formation ◽

Stress Evolution ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray ◽

Bending Force ◽

Constant Heating

ABSTRACTThe biaxial stress in Co thin-films has been investigated in situ by measuring changes in substrate curvature that occurred during deposition and annealing.Films of Co, 35 to 500 nm in thickness, were deposited by UHV magnetron sputtering at room temperature on Si (100) and poly-Si substrates.Results show that during Co deposition the bending force increased linearly with film thickness; a signature of constant stress.In addition, the stress evolution during silicide formation was measured under constant heating rate conditions from room temperature up to 700°C. The stress-temperature curve was correlated with Co2Si, CoSi, and CoSi2 phase formation using in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements.The room temperature stress for the CoSi2 phase was found to be ∼0.8 GPa (tensile) in the films deposited on Si (100) and ∼1 GPa (tensile) on the films deposited on poly-Si.The higher tensile stress in the poly-Si sample could be a result of Si grain growth during annealing.

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In-Situ Studies of Silicide Formation in Ti-Ta Bilayer Thin Films on Poly-Si

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-721-j2.4 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 721 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

A. S. Özcan ◽

K. F. Ludwig ◽

C. Lavoie ◽

C. Cabral ◽

J. M. E. Harper

Keyword(s):

Volume Fraction ◽

Formation Temperature ◽

Silicide Formation ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Template Effect ◽

Elastic Light Scattering ◽

Time Resolved ◽

X Ray ◽

Si Substrates

AbstractWe have studied the formation of titanium silicides in the presence of an ultra-thin layer of Ta, interposed between Ti and Si. In-situ x-ray diffraction (XRD), resistance measurements and elastic light scattering were used to study the thin film reactions in real time during ramp anneals to 1000°C. On poly-Si substrates the Ta thickness was varied from 0 to 1.5 nm while the Ti thickness was held constant at ∼27 nm. The time-resolved XRD shows that the volume fraction of C40 and metal-rich silicide phases grows with increasing Ta layer thickness. Increased Ta layer thicknesses also delay the growth of the C49 disilicide phase to higher temperatures. Among the Ta thicknesses we examined, 0.3 nm is the most effective in lowering the C49-C54 transformation temperature. Films with Ta layers thicker than 0.5 nm do not completely transform into the C54 phase. The texture of the C54 phase is also sensitive to the Ta thickness. The C54 disilicide film is predominantly (010) textured for the Ti / 0.3 nm Ta sample. The final C54 texture is significantly different for Ta layers thinner or thicker than the optimal 0.3 nm. This suggests that the most effective thickness for lowering the C54 formation temperature is related to the development of a strong (010) texture. The possibility of a template effect by the C40 or metal-rich Ti5Si3 phases is also discussed on the basis of texture considerations.

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In Situ Rapid Thermal Hydrogenation Pretreatment of Ti for Salicide RTA

MRS Proceedings ◽

10.1557/proc-429-187 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 429 ◽

Author(s):

K. Ando ◽

T. Ishigami ◽

Y. Matsubara ◽

T. Horiuchi ◽

S. Nishimoto

Keyword(s):

Crystal Structure ◽

Phase Transition ◽

Diffraction Analysis ◽

Sheet Resistance ◽

Rapid Thermal Annealing ◽

Titanium Silicide ◽

Silicide Formation ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

X Ray

AbstractAn in situ rapid thermal hydrogenation (RTH) pretreatment of titanium prior to rapid thermal annealing (RTA), or RTH/RTA, is proposed as a silicide formation annealing in a CMOS self-aligned silicide (salicide) process. The in situ RTH is found to enhance silicidation, to reduce nitridation, and even to lower the resultant sheet resistance of titanium silicide.During in situ RTH (e.g., at 550°C), amorphous Ti silicide (e.g., 15-nm thick) grows selectively on Si. Furthermore, Ti nitridation during subsequent RTA (690°C, N2, 10 Torr, 30 s) is reduced depending on RTH (H2, 10 Torr, 30 s) temperature. Accordingly, for 550°C RTH and an initial Ti thickness of 15 nm, the sheet resistance obtained at the 0.27-μm-wide n+ poly-Si gate after a phase transition annealing (800°C, Ar, 10 s) was lower (11.7 Ω /□, st. dev. = 6%) than that of conventional Ti silicide (15.8 Ω/□, st. dev. = 10%). The silicidation enhancement and nitridation reduction are related to crystal structure metamorphosis or to hydrogen interstitial incorporation in the Ti layer during RTH as observed by x-ray diffraction analysis. It is concluded that in situ RTH pretreatment before RTA is very promising as a sub-quarter-micron CMOS salicide process.

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The Use of Advanced Analytical Techniques for Characterization of the Chemical, Physical, and Crystallographic Nature of a Surface

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100071107 ◽

1973 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 132-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. E. Herfert

Keyword(s):

Surface Characterization ◽

Analytical Techniques ◽

X Ray Diffraction ◽

Depth Of Penetration ◽

X Ray ◽

The Past ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Scanning Electron

Studies of the nature of a surface, either metallic or nonmetallic, in the past, have been limited to the instrumentation available for these measurements. In the past, optical microscopy, replica transmission electron microscopy, electron or X-ray diffraction and optical or X-ray spectroscopy have provided the means of surface characterization. Actually, some of these techniques are not purely surface; the depth of penetration may be a few thousands of an inch. Within the last five years, instrumentation has been made available which now makes it practical for use to study the outer few 100A of layers and characterize it completely from a chemical, physical, and crystallographic standpoint. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) provides a means of viewing the surface of a material in situ to magnifications as high as 250,000X.

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