Manufacturable Processes for $\leq$ 32-nm-node CMOS Enhancement by Synchronous Optimization of Strain-Engineered Channel and External Parasitic Resistances

Manufacturable processes to reduce both channel and external resistances (R_Ext) in CMOS devices are described. Simulations show that R_Ext will become equivalent to strained Si channel resistance near the 32-nm logic node. Tensile stress in plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor-deposited SiN_x liners is increased with UV curing, boosting the NMOS drive current by 20% relative to a neutral reference. W contact-plug resistance (R_c) is reduced by 40% by optimizing preclean, liner/barrier, and nucleation steps. Replacing the fill material with Cu reduces R_c by > 35% as compared to W. The Schottky barrier height of silicide contacts to p-Si is reduced by 0.12 eV with a 10% addition of Pt, resulting in a ~10% increase in the PMOS drive current. By implementing a two-step anneal process (spike + laser), the source/drain-extension resistance can be reduced by 20%.