Characteristics of Nickel Thin Film and Formation of Nickel Silicide by Remote Plasma Atomic Layer Deposition using Ni(iPr-DAD)2

TL;DR

This paper explores the deposition of nickel thin films via remote plasma atomic layer deposition using Ni(iPr-DAD)2, examining impurity removal, film properties, and the formation and stability of nickel silicide upon annealing.

Contribution

It is the first study to deposit Ni thin film using Ni(iPr-DAD)2 as a precursor in ALD, analyzing impurity control and silicide formation.

Findings

Ni film deposited with 2.2 Å/cycle at 250°C

Low resistivity of 33 μΩ·cm achieved

ALD Ni silicide shows superior thermal stability

Abstract

In this study, the characteristics of nickel thin film deposited by remote plasma atomic layer deposition (RPALD) on p-type Si substrate and formation of nickel silicide using rapid thermal annealing were determined. Bis(1,4-di-isopropyl-1,3-diazabutadienyl)nickel, Ni(iPr-DAD)2, was used as a Ni precursor and ammonia plasma was used as a reactant. This was the first attempt to deposit Ni thin film using Ni(iPr-DAD)2 as a precursor for the ALD process. The RPALD Ni film was deposited with a growth rate of around 2.2{\AA}/cycle at 250 {\deg}C and showed significant low resistivity of 33 {\mu}{\Omega}cm with a total impurity concentration of around 10 at. %.The impurities of the thin film, carbon and nitrogen, were existent by the forms of C-C and C-N in a bonding state. The impurities removal tendency was investigated by comparing of experimental conditions, namely process temperature and pressure. Nitrogen impurity was removed by thermal desorption during each ALD cycle and carbon impurity was reduced by the optimizing of the process pressure which is directly related with a mean free path of NH3 plasma. After Ni deposition, nickel silicide was formed by RTA in a vacuum ambient for 1 minute. A nickel silicide layer from ALD Ni and PVD Ni was compared at the annealing temperature from 500 to 900 {\deg}C. NiSi from ALD Ni showed better thermal stability due to the contribution of small amounts of carbon and nitrogen in the asdeposited Ni thin film. Degradation of the silicide layer was effectively suppressed with a use of ALD Ni.