Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Si:C layers are interesting candidates as stressor layers for NMOS transistors. Growth of such a Si:C layer has been realized by an expensive epitaxial growth process for devices to produce tensile strain in the channel, leading to enhanced mobility and device performance. Use of a monomer carbon ion implant in conjunction with a Ge pre-amorphizing implant (Ge-PAI) in Si is an alternative, lower cost approach to obtaining such SiC layers. This approach has not yielded desired device performance owing to low carbon substitutionality [C]sub, and also the presence of end-of-range (EOR) defects and large leakage currents due to the Ge-PAI implant. In this study we will show the formation of a Si:C layer using a ClusterCarbon approach that creates self-amorphization in Si thus avoiding an extra Ge-PAI implant step. We show that more than 2% substitutional carbon can be realized by using solid-phase-epitaxial-regrowth (SPER) and millisecond anneal. Si:C layers are characterized by using High Resolution X-ray Diffraction (HRXRD) and SIMS techniques.