Rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition of germanium on silicon and silicon dioxide and new applications of ge in ULSI technologies

Abstract

In this study, low pressure chemical vapor deposition of pure germanium on silicon and silicon dioxide has been considered for new applications in future ultra large scale integration (ULSI) technologies. Germanium depositions were performed in a lamp heated cold-wall rapid thermal processor using thermal decomposition of GeH₄. It is shown that Ge deposition on Si can be characterized by two different regions: a) at temperatures below approximately 450° C, the deposition is controlled by the rate of surface reactions resulting in an activation energy of 41.7 kcal/mole. b) Above this temperature, mass transport effects become dominant. The deposition rate at the transition temperature is approximately 800 Å/min. It is shown that Ge deposition on SiO₂ does not occur, even at temperatures as high as 600° C, resulting in a highly selective deposition process. Selectivity, combined with low deposition temperature makes the process very attractive for a number of applications. In this work, it is shown for the first time that selective Ge deposition can be used to eliminate silicon consumption below the gate level during the silicidation of the shallow source and drain junctions of deep submicron MOSFETs. In addition, a new in situ technique has been developed which allows polycrystalline germanium (poly-Ge) deposition on SiO₂. In this work poly-Ge has been considered as a low temperature alternative to polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) in the formation of gate electrodes in single-wafer manufacturing where low-thermal budget processes are most desirable.