Stress in Silicon Due to the Formation of Self Aligned Poly-CoSi2 Lines Studied by Micro-Raman Spectroscopy

The application of CoSi2 in ever shrinking Si CMOS source-drain technologies demands a better knowledge of the states of stress caused by the formation of cobalt-silicides in Si. In this study the variation in local mechanical stress in the silicon substrate near arrays of polycrystalline cobalt-silicide lines was investigated by micro-Raman spectroscopy. The lines were formed by annealing Co sputtered in windows in lithographically patterned, thermal oxide coated Si wafers. The CoSi2 lines varied in width from ˜0.25 to 5.0μ, in number from 2 to 7, and in thickness from ˜ 10 to 230nm. The spacing between lines was 1 and 3 times the line width.Trends in the Si stress between CoSi2 lines are described as a function of line width and line thickness. From the stress measured in the Si, information is obtained about the stress in the CoSi2 lines. In addition, the Si stress due to lines of primarily CoSi phase (monosilicide) is compared with the Si stress due to polycrystalline-CoSi2 (disilicide) lines.Cross section TEM and SEM micrographs of the CoSix line morphologies are used to aid the description of the resulting stress profiles. Some theoretical modeling of the stress in the Si due to the CoSix lines is presented for comparison with the micro-Raman spectroscopy results.