Advanced Flash Lamp Annealing technology for 22nm and further device

Idea of a very short time annealing technology has evaluated in 1980s. Engineers tried to use Flash lamp, laser or some other lamps. In 1990s, W-halogen lamp annealing replaced furnace annealing in activation and silicidation process. Thermal budget has reduced from minutes to seconds. Eager for Milli-second Annealing (MSA) really came out in 2000s. Since dopant diffusion and an activation ratio have been considered to be more critical obstacle in scaled down microstructure devices, FLA activation technology came into spotlight again. A 65 nm device was a first product which used Flash Lamp Annealing (FLA) in manufacturing. Today, milli-second process has become an indispensable method in device manufacturing. But device generation keeps proceeding 45 nm, 32 nm and so on. Furthermore, a new material like high-k/metal is selected as a latest device material. Difficulty in MSA for 32 and 22 generation devices is reported recently.