Laser activation of Ultra Shallow Junctions (USJ) doped by Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII)

Today, the main challenges for the realization of the source/drain extensions concern the ultra-low energy implantation and the activation of the maximum amount of dopants with a minimized diffusion. Among the different annealing processes, one solution is the laser thermal annealing. Many studies [F. Torregrosa, C. Laviron, F. Milesi, M. Hernandez, H. Faik, J. Venturini, Proc. 14th International Conference on Ion Implant Technology, 2004; M. Hernandez, J. Venturini, D. Zahorski, J. Boulmer, D. Débarre, G. Kerrien, T. Sarnet, C. Laviron, M.N Semeria, D. Camel, J.L Santailler, Appl. Surf. Sci. 208–209 (2003) 345–351] have shown that the association of Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII) and Laser Thermal Process (LTP) allows to obtain junctions of a few nanometers with a high electrical activation. All the wafers studied have been implanted by PULSION® (PIII implanter developed by Ion Beam Services) with an acceleration voltage of 1 kV and a dose of 6 × 1015 at./cm2. In this paper, we compare the annealing process achieved with three excimer lasers: ArF, KrF and XeCl with a wavelength of respectively 193, 248 and 308 nm. We analyse the results in terms of boron activation and junction depth. To complete this study, we have observed the effect of pre-amorphization implantation (PAI) before PIII process on boron implantation and boron activation. We show that Ge PAI implanted by classical beam line allows a decrease of the junction depth from 20 down to 12 nm in the as-implanted condition. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) analyses were performed in order to study the structure of pre-amorphized silicon and to estimate the thickness of the amorphous layer. In order to determine the sheet resistance (Rs) and the junction depth (Xj), we have used the four-point probe technique (4PP) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analysis. To complete the electrical characterizations some samples have been analyzed by non-contact optical measurements. All the results are presented as a function of the laser fluence and the laser wavelength.