FORMATION OF NANOSCALE COBALT SILICIDE AND GOLD WIRES USING ELECTRON-BEAM AND CHEMICALLY ENHANCED VAPOR ETCHING

We report on the successful use of electron-beam patterning of ambient hydrocarbon residues on silicon dioxide as a patterning tool for the formation of nanoscale conductors. This chemically enhanced vapor etch ing (CEVE) was employed for the production of lithographic masks for t he formation of nanoscale wires on the silicon substrates. Cobalt sili cide nanowires were formed by using the CEVE-produced mask in combinat ion with conventional metallization and silicidation procedures. Cobal t silicide wires ranging in width from less than 50 up to 125 nm were produced in this study. Nanoscale wires of chromium/gold were also pro duced using a variation on the procedure employed in the cobalt silici de process. Using identical approaches to mask production and employin g a liftoff of the oxide mask by HF solution etching, chromium/gold wi res as narrow as 26 nm were produced. (C) 1996 American Vacuum Society .