Effect of a noble annealing system on nickel silicide formation

We have investigated the formation of NiSi dependence on three types of annealing systems: annealing systems-I, -II, and -III. The annealing system-I transfers heat by radiation from tungsten halogen lamps in a N₂ atmosphere to the wafer and the annealing system-II by conduction from a heated hot plate in vacuum to the wafer. On the other hand, annealing system-III uses a combination of convective and gas phase conductive heat transfer in a N₂ atmosphere for wafer heating. Smooth surface and interface morphologies and good electrical properties were obtained for NiSi layers formed using annealing system-III. The wafer heat transfer mechanism from the heat source to wafer is shown to influence the morphological and electrical properties of NiSi