Electromagnetic induction heating for cold wall rapid thermal processing

Electromagnetic Induction Heating is a novel heating technique by which shallow implanted dopants can be activated with minimal movement of the as implanted profile. Silicon wafers can be directly heated, without the use of a susceptor, in the RF (13.56 MHz), microwave (2.45 GHz), or millimeter wave (30.5 GHz) regimes. Heating rates of at least 125°C/sec have been achieved and are shown along with temperature vs. power plots in the different frequency ranges. SIMS profiles of as implanted and EMIH annealed boron implants show that considerable activation can be achieved with no diffusion of the junction depth. Post-anneal junctions with sheet resistances that meet the 100 nm technology node and that, with optimization, may meet the 70 nm technology node have been realized. It is suspected that the high frequency electric fields present during annealing provide an additional driving force toward dopant activation, allowing for higher activation at lower temperatures.