NiSi contact metallization using electroless Ni deposition on Pd-activated self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on p-type Si(1 0 0)

In this paper we describe a method to form NiSi contacts using electroless plating of Nickel or Ni alloy on Pd activated self-assembled monolayer (SAM) on p-type Si(1 0 0). Such method allows uniform deposition of very thin, <30 nm, Ni or Ni alloy films. Clean, oxide free, Si substrate was covered with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) self-assembled monolayer. The surface was activated with Pd-citrate solution followed by electroless plating. The samples were annealed for 1 h in vacuum (∼10⁻⁶ Torr) forming the silicide layer. The annealing temperatures were 400 °C for NiP alloy and 500 °C for NiPW alloy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement confirmed the presence of NiSi phase after annealing. The silicides material properties were characterized using secondary electron microscopy (SEM) analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) profiling. The results are reported and summarized.