Formation of thermally stable Ni monosilicide using an inductively coupled plasma process

The effect of argon plasma treatment on the structural and electrical properties of Ni suicides has been investigated. Electron-beam-evaporated Ni films on Si substrates are Ar plasma-treated by an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) reactor. For silicidation reactions, all the samples with and without the Ar plasma treatment are rapid-thermal annealed (RTA) at temperatures of 500-750°C in a nitrogen ambient. It is shown that the Ar plasma-treated samples produce better electrical and structural properties across the whole temperature range as compared with the untreated samples. It is further shown that the Ar plasma-treated samples contain nitrogen, which plays an important role in improving the morphological stability and the electrical properties of the suicide films.