Metal Silicides: Active elements of ULSI contacts

As device dimensions scale to the 0.1 urn regime, the self-aligned suicide (SALICIDE) contact technology increasingly becomes an integral part of both the ultra-shallow junction and the metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor device itself. This paper will discuss the effect of suicide materials and formation processes on suicide stability, junction consumption, the ability to accurately profile shallow junctions, and contact resistance in series with the channel. The use of suicides as diffusion sources (SADS) provides an important pathway toward optimization of suicide technology. Diffusion of boron and arsenic from nearly epitaxial layers of CoSi₂, formed from bilayers of Ti and Co, offer good suicide stability, ultra-shallow, low-leakage junctions, and low contact resistance.