Full silicidation process for making CoSi2 on SiO2

A silicidation process was developed to produce high-quality CoSi2 directly on SiO2, which can be used for metal gates of metal–oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Normally, the formation of a CoSi2 layer on SiO2 is very difficult because of the requirement for an exact Co/Si thickness ratio. In our process, an additional Si layer was deposited after the first rapid thermal processing (RTP) at 500 °C and selective etching of the unreacted Co. The additional Si layer provided a Si supply for the second RTP at a higher temperature. This method allows the Co layer thickness to be varied over a fairly large range, and in addition, the microstructure of the silicide layer and the CoSi2/SiO2 interface were substantially improved.