Millisecond Microwave Annealing: Reaching the 32 Nm Node

ABSTRACTThe next generation of Si devices requires thermal treatments of 1200°C – 1300°C but can only withstand temperatures above 800°C for a few milliseconds. Current rapid thermal processing techniques cannot meet these requirements. We have designed, constructed, and tested a microwave reactor that heats Si to 1300°C in only a few milliseconds and cools the wafer at a rate that exceeds a million degrees per second. Applying millisecond microwave annealing to ultra-shallow junction formation in advanced Si devices shows that this technique meets or exceeds the thermal processing requirements for the next several generations of Si devices.