Electromagnetic annealing for the 100 nm technology node

Electromagnetic induction heating (EMIH) is a novel rapid thermal processing technique that uses microwave and radio frequency (RF) radiation to directly heat silicon wafers. Heating rates of 125/spl deg/C/s have been achieved and 75 mm diameter wafers have been heated above 1000/spl deg/C using only 950 W of power. EMIH has been used to activate shallow implanted dopants with minimal diffusion of the junction depth. It is speculated that the exposure of the wafer to intense electric fields during the anneal may provide an additional driving force for dopant activation, allowing for higher activation at lower temperatures. Post-anneal junction depths less than 25 nm with sheet resistances between 700 and 1000 ohms/square have been achieved without the use of a controlled low oxygen ambient. The EMIH Rs-Xj curve penetrates the SEMATECH 100 nm technology box and with further optimizations may satisfy the 70 nm technology node.