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Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B, Vol.24, No.1, 515-520, 2006
Implementation of flash technology for ultra shallow junction formation: Challenges in process integration
Several methods for annealing to form ultra shallow junctions are being developed encompassing short bursts of optical energy derived from the discharge of Xe-arc lamps. The flash technology heats the wafer surface to very high temperatures for dopant activation, yet minimizes dopant diffusion which is heeded for sub 65 nm technologies. A number of challenges remain in implementing the technology for volume fabrication, particularly the control of defect formation and the pattern sensitivity on the wafer surface. The plausible regions of flash energy combined with the assist temperature have been investigated to achieve good activation, yet maintain a low defect level. This has been verified through leakage characteristics of the source/drain extensions. Other aspects of implementation were investigated to formulate a processing sequence which achieves suitable device characteristics. A process integration methodology is described with corresponding device data, electrical and physical, to note improvements that have been made. (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.