Pt interlayer effects on Ni germanosilicide formation and contact properties

Ni and Ni(Pt) germanosilicide formation and their contact properties on n-type epitaxial Si0.84Ge0.16 have been studied in this work. It is revealed that compared to NiSi, NiSiGe has enhanced phase stability but worse morphology stability. It is also found that Pt incorporation in germanosilicidation improves the morphology of the germanosilicide film. The Schottky contact characteristics of NiSiGe and Ni(Pt)SiGe on n-SiGe were evaluated by current–voltage (I–V) technique at room temperature. NiSiGe/n-SiGe contact shows a Schottky barrier height (SBH) of 0.65 eV with little difference from that of NiSi/n-Si contact. However, the contact shows a reduced SBH with a markedly increased ideality factor and leakage current when annealing temperature increases to 650 °C, indicating thermal degradation of the contact quality. Pt incorporation increases the SBH to 0.73 eV. In addition, its diode parameters such as SBH, ideality factor, and reverse leakage show better conformity during the whole annealing temperature range (from 450 to 650 °C). Therefore, it is concluded that Pt interlayer between Ni and SiGe can modulate the barrier height of Ni germanosilicide and improve its contact properties.