• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.8 no.10
• /
• pp.956-960
• /
• 1998

The interfacial reaction between the CoINb bilayer and the $SiO_2$ substrate in the temperature range of $330^{\circ}C$-$800^{\circ}C$ in a vacuum has been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, glancing angle XRD, Auger Electron Spectroscopy and Atomic force microscopy. The Co and Nb were actively interdiffused at $600^{\circ}C$, and the layer inversion completed at $700^{\circ}C$. NbO was formed by interfacial reaction between the Nb interlayer and the $SiO_2$ substrate, while $Nb_20_5$ was formed on the surface by reaction of Nb with oxygen in the ambients. Free Si atoms obtained by the reaction between Nb and $SiO_2$ formed silicides like CoSi and $Nb_5Si_3$ by reacting with Co and Nb remnants. The sheet resistance of the Co/Nb bilayer increased substantially after annealing at $800^{\circ}C$. which is due to the agglomeration of the Co layer to reduce its surface energy.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
• /
• 2003.11a
• /
• pp.167-171
• /
• 2003

We report the material and electrical properties of $CoSi_2$ and $NiSi_2$contacts to n-type 4H-SiC depending on the post-annealing and the metal covering conditions. The Ni and Co silicides are deposited by RF sputtering with Ni/Si/Ni and Co/Si/Co films separately deposited on 4H-SiC substrates. The deposited films are annealed at $800\;^{\circ}C$ in $Ar:H_2$ (9:1) gas ambient. Results of the specific surface resistivity measurements show that the resistivity of the Co-based metal contact was the one order lower than that of the Ni-based contact. The specific contact resistance was measured by a transmission line technique, and the specific contact resistivity of $1.5{\times}10^{-6}\;{\Omega}\;cm^2$ is obtained for Co/Si/Co metal structures after a two-step annealing; at $550\;^{\circ}C$ for 10 min and $800\;^{\circ}C$ for 3min. The physical properties of the contacts were examined by using XRD and AES, and the results indicate that the Co-based metal contacts have better structural stability of silicide phases formed after the high temperature annealing.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.132-136
• /
• 2001

Iron- silicide has been produced by mechanical alloying process and consolidated by hot pressing. As-consolidated iron silicides were consisted of $\beta$-FeSi$_2$ phase, and untransformed mixture of $\alpha$-$Fe_2Si_5$ and $\varepsilon$-FeSi phases. Isothermal annealing has been carried out to induce the transformation to a thermoelectric semiconducting $\beta$-$FeSi_2$ phase. The condition for $\beta$-FeSi$_2$ transformation was investigated by utilizing DTA, SEM, TEM and XRD analysis. The phase transformation was shown to be taken place by a vacuum isothermal annealing at $830^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours. The mechanical and thermoelectric properties of $\beta$-FeSi$_2$ materials before and after isothermal annealing were characterized in this study.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.46 no.2
• /
• pp.69-79
• /
• 2008

A composition consisting of 10 nm-Ni/1 nm-Pd/(30 nm or 70 nm-poly)Si was thermally annealed using rapid thermal for 40 seconds at $300{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$ to improve the thermal stability of conventional nickel monosilicide. The annealed bilayer structure developed into $Ni(Pd)Si_x$, and the resulting changes in sheet resistance, microstructure, phase, chemical composition, and surface roughness were investigated. The silicide, which formed on single crystal silicon, could defer the transformation of $NiSi_2$, and was stable at temperatures up to $1100^{\circ}C$. It remained unchanged on polysilicon substrate compared with the sheet resistance of conventional nickel silicide. The silicides annealed at $700^{\circ}C$, formed on single crystal silicon and 30 nm polysilicon substrates exhibited 30 nm-thick uniform silicide layers. However, silicide annealed at $1,000^{\circ}C$ showed preferred and agglomerated phase. The high resistance was due to the agglomerated and mixed microstructures. Through X-ray diffraction analysis, the silicide formed on single crystal silicon and 30 nm polysilicon substrate, showed NiSi phase on the entire temperature range and mixed phases of NiSi and $NiSi_2$ on 70 nm polysilicon substrate. Through scanning probe microscope (SPM) analysis, we confirmed that the surface roughness increased abruptly until 36 nm on 30 nm polysilicon substrate while not changed on single crystal and 70 nm polysilicon substrates. The Pd-inserted nickel monosilicide could maintain low resistance in a wide temperature range and is considered suitable for nano-thick silicide processing.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.159-168
• /
• 2008

Thermally-evaporated 10 nm-Ni/1 nm-Ru/(30 nm or 70 nm-poly)Si structures were fabricated in order to investigate the thermal stability of Ru-inserted nickel monosilicide. The silicide samples underwent rapid thermal anne aling at $300{\sim}1,100^{\circ}C$ for 40 seconds. Silicides suitable for the salicide process were formed on the top of the single crystal and polycrystalline silicon substrates mimicking actives and gates. The sheet resistance was measured using a four-point probe. High resolution X-ray diffraction and Auger depth profiling were used for phase and chemical composition analysis, respectively. Transmission electron microscope and scanning probe microscope(SPM) were used to determine the cross-sectional structure and surface roughness. The silicide, which formed on single crystal silicon and 30 nm polysilicon substrate, could defer the transformation of $Ni_2Si $i and $NiSi_2 $, and was stable at temperatures up to $1,100^{\circ}C$ and $1,100^{\circ}C$, respectively. Regarding microstructure, the nano-size NiSi preferred phase was observed on single crystalline Si substrate, and agglomerate phase was shown on 30 nm-thick polycrystalline Si substrate, respectively. The silicide, formed on 70 nm polysilicon substrate, showed high resistance at temperatures >$700^{\circ}C$ caused by mixed microstructure. Through SPM analysis, we confirmed that the surface roughness increased abruptly on single crystal Si substrate while not changed on polycrystalline substrate. The Ru-inserted nickel monosilicide could maintain a low resistance in wide temperature range and is considered suitable for the nano-thick silicide process.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.133-140
• /
• 2010

10 nm thick Ni layers were deposited on 200 nm $SiO_2/Si$ substrates using an e-beam evaporator. Then, 60 nm or 20 nm thick ${\alpha}$-Si:H layers were grown at low temperature (<$200^{\circ}C$) by a Catalytic-CVD. NiSi layers were already formed instantaneously during Cat-CVD process regardless of the thickness of the $\alpha$-Si. The resulting changes in sheet resistance, microstructure, phase, chemical composition, and surface roughness with the additional rapid thermal annealing up to $500^{\circ}C$ were examined using a four point probe, HRXRD, FE-SEM, TEM, AES, and SPM, respectively. The sheet resistance of the NiSi layer was 12${\Omega}$/□ regardless of the thickness of the ${\alpha}$-Si and kept stable even after the additional annealing process. The thickness of the NiSi layer was 30 nm with excellent uniformity and the surface roughness was maintained under 2 nm after the annealing. Accordingly, our result implies that the low temperature Cat-CVD process with proposed films stack sequence may have more advantages than the conventional CVD process for nano scale NiSi applications.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2000.02a
• /
• pp.173-173
• /
• 2000

Multilayered films (MLF) consisting of transition metals and semiconductors have drawn a great deal of interest because of their unique properties and potential technological applications. Fe/Si MLF are a particular topic of research due to their interesting antiferromagnetic coupling behavior. although a number of experimental works have been done to understand the mechanism of the interlayer coupling in this system, the results are controversial and it is not yet well understood how the formation of an iron silicide in the spacer layers affects the coupling. The interpretation of the coupling data had been hampered by the lack of knowledge about the intermixed iron silicide layer which has been variously hypothesized to be a metallic compound in the B2 structure or a semiconductor in the more complex B20 structure. It is well known that both magneto-optical (MO0 and optical properties of a metal depend strongly on their electronic structure that is also correlated with the atomic and chemical ordering. In order to understand the structure and physical properties of the interfacial regions, Fe/Si multilayers with very thin sublayers were investigated by the MO and optical spectroscopies. The Fe/si MLF were prepared by rf-sputtering onto glass substrates at room temperature with a totall thickness of about 100nm. The thicknesses of Fe and Si sublayers were varied from 0.3 to 0.8 nm. In order to understand the fully intermixed state, the MLF were also annealed at various temperatures. The structure and magnetic properties of Fe/Si MLF were investigated by x-ray diffraction and vibrating sample magnertometer, respectively. The MO and optical properties were measured at toom temperature in the 1.0-4.7 eV energy range. The results were analyzed in connection with the MO and optical properties of bulk and thin-film silicides with various structures and stoichiometries.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.11 no.7
• /
• pp.556-561
• /
• 2001

We prepared a new a SOS(silicon-on-silicide) wafer pair which is consisted of Si(100)/1000$\AA$-NiSi Si (100) layers. SOS can be employed in MEMS(micro- electronic-mechanical system) application due to low resistance of the NiSi layer. A thermally evaporated $1000\AA$-thick Ni/Si wafer and a clean Si wafer were pre-mated in the class 100 clean room, then annealed at $300~900^{\circ}C$ for 15hrs to induce silicidation reaction. SOS wafer pairs were investigated by a IR camera to measure bonded area and probed by a SEM(scanning electron microscope) and TEM(transmission electron microscope) to observe cross-sectional view of Si/NiSi. IR camera observation showed that the annealed SOS wafer pairs have over 52% bonded area in all temperature region except silicidation phase transition temperature. By probing cross-sectional view with SEM of magnification of 30,000, we found that $1000\AA$-thick uniform NiSi layer was formed at the center area of bonded wafers without void defects. However we observed debonded area at the edge area of wafers. Through TEM observation, we found that $10-20\AA$ thick amourphous layer formed between Si surface and NiSix near the counter part of SOS. This layer may be an oxide layer and lead to degradation of bonding. At the edge area of wafers, that amorphous layer was formed even to thickness of $1500\AA$ during annealing. Therefore, to increase bonding area of Si NiSi ∥ Si wafer pairs, we may lessen the amorphous layers.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
• /
• v.10 no.9
• /
• pp.601-606
• /
• 2000

Nickel mono-silicide(NiSi) shows no increase of resistivity as the line width decreases below 0.15$\mu\textrm{m}$. Furthermore, thin silicide can be made easily and restrain the redistribution of dopants, because NiSi in created through the reaction of one nickel atom and one silicon atom. Therefore, we investigated the deposition condition of Ni films, heat treatment condition and basic properties of NiSi films which are expected to be employed for sub-0.15$\mu\textrm{m}$ class devices. The nickel silicide film was deposited on the Si wafer by using a dc-magnetron sputter, then annealed at the temperature range of $150~1000^{\circ}C$. Surface roughness of each specimen was measured by using a SPM (scanning probe microscope). Microstructure and qualitative composition analysis were executed by a TEM-EDS(transmission electron microscope-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscope). Electrical properties of the materials at each annealing temperature were measured by a four-point probe. As the results of our study, we may conclude that; 1. SPM can be employed as a non-destructive process to monitor NiSi/NiSi$_2$ transformation. 2. For annealing temperature over $800^{\circ}C$, oxygen pressure $Po_2$ should be kept below $1.5{\times}10^{-11}torr$ to avoid oxidation of residual Ni. 3. NiSi to $NiSi_2$ transformation temperature in our study was $700^{\circ}C$ from the four-point probe measurement.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
• /
• 2013.02a
• /
• pp.399-399
• /
• 2013

Metal silicides는 Si 기반의microelectronic devices의 interconnect와 contact 물질 등에 사용하기 위하여 그 형성 mechanism과 전기적 특성에 대한 연구가 많이 이루어지고 있다. 이 중 Rare-earth(RE) silicides는 저온에서 silicides를 형성하고, n-type Si과 낮은 Schottky Barrier contact (~0.3 eV)을 이룬다. 또한 낮은 resistivity와 Si과의 작은 lattice mismatch, 그리고 epitaxial growth의 가능성, 높은 thermal stability 등의 장점을 갖고 있다. RE silicides 중 ytterbium silicide는 가장 낮은 electric work function을 갖고 있어 n-channel schottky barrier MOSFETs의 source/drain으로 주목받고 있다. 또한 Silicon 기반의 CMOSFETs의 성능 향상 한계로 인하여 germanium 기반의 소자에 대한 연구가 이루어져 왔다. Ge 기반 FETs 제작을 위해서는 낮은 source/drain series/contact resistances의 contact을 형성해야 한다. 본 연구에서는 저접촉 저항 contact material로서 ytterbium germanide의 가능성에 대해 고찰하고자 하였다. HRTEM과 EDS를 이용하여 ytterbium germanide의 미세구조 분석과 면저항 및 Schottky Barrier Heights 등의 전기적 특성 분석을 진행하였다. Low doped n-type Ge (100) wafer를 1%의 hydrofluoric (HF) acid solution에 세정하여 native oxide layer를 제거하고, 고진공에서 RF sputtering 법을 이용하여 ytterbium 30 nm를 먼저 증착하고, 그 위에 ytterbium의 oxidation을 방지하기 위한 capping layer로 100 nm 두께의 TiN을 증착하였다. 증착 후, rapid thermal anneal (RTA)을 이용하여 N2 분위기에서 $300{\sim}700^{\circ}C$에서 각각 1분간 열처리하여 ytterbium germanides를 형성하였다. Ytterbium germanide의 미세구조 분석은 transmission electron microscopy (JEM-2100F)을 이용하였다. 면 저항 측정을 위해 sulfuric acid와 hydrogen peroxide solution (H2SO4:H2O2=6:1)에서 strip을 진행하여 TiN과 unreacted Yb을 제거하였고, 4-point probe를 통하여 측정하였다. Yb germanides의 면저항은 열처리 온도 증가에 따라 감소하다 증가하는 경향을 보이고, $400{\sim}500^{\circ}C$에서 가장 작은 면저항을 나타내었다. HRTEM 분석 결과, deposition 과정에서 Yb과 Si의 intermixing이 일어나 amorphous layer가 존재하였고, 열처리 온도가 증가하면서 diffusion이 더 활발히 일어나 amorphous layer의 두께가 증가하였다. $350^{\circ}C$ 열처리 샘플에서 germanide/Ge interface에서 epitaxial 구조의 crystalline Yb germanide가 형성되었고, EDS 측정 및 diffraction pattern을 통하여 안정상인 YbGe2-X phase임을 확인하였다. 이러한 epitaxial growth는 면저항의 감소를 가져왔으며, 열처리 온도가 증가하면서 epitaxial layer가 증가하다가 고온에서 polycrystalline 구조의 Yb germanide가 형성되어 면저항의 증가를 가져왔다. Schottky Barrier Heights 측정 결과 또한 면저항 경향과 동일하게 열처리 증가에 따라 감소하다가 고온에서 다시 증가하였다.