A new oxidation-resistant self-aligned TiSi₂process

Abstract

This paper presents a thin amorphous Si (a-Si) on Ti as an oxidation-resistant material for a self-aligned TiSi <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> process. It is shown that a thin a-Si over Ti film will greatly suppress the interaction between Ti and ambient gases (N <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> and O <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> ) during the thermal TiSi <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> formation cycle in conventional N <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> furnance while maintaining satisfactory self-aligned property after silicidation at a temperature below 630°C.