GIWAXS measurements: Study of texture evolution of ultra- thin Ni(Pt)Si film in confined structures during agglomeration

Nickel silicide, Ni(Pt)Si thin film plays an important role in reducing contact resistance and facilitating current flow in microelectronics devices. For advanced
microelectronics technology, ultra-thin Ni(Pt)Si film (below 20 nm) is the primary choice of materials to be used as contacts on the active regions of the Si-based
transistors. However, Ni(Pt)Si thin film suffers from poor morphological stability due to the agglomeration phenomenon at a temperature as low as 500 °C. The
breakage of thin film by agglomeration leads to the formation of inverted small islands of Ni(Pt)Si. This results in a drastic increase of sheet resistance, Rs,
detrimental to the overall yield and performance of devices (fig. 1). Detavernier et al. has shown the importance of the texture of Ni(Pt)Si films in controlling the
agglomeration phenomenon. In particular, the axiotaxy (off-normal fibre texture, fig. 2) was found to play an important role in agglomeration.