Formation of high-temperature stable Co-silicide from Co0.92Ta0.08/Si systems

We investigated the formation and thermal stability of Co-silicide films us ing Co-Ta alloy films on (100) Si substrates. Co-Ta alloy films were deposi ted by direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering using Co and Ta targets. Th e content of Ta in the films was controlled at 8 at.%. The Co-silicide film s were formed through a rapid thermal annealing (RTA) process in N-2 ambien t. Compared with the Co/Si systems, the formation Of CoSi2 occurs at higher temperatures in Co0.92Ta0.08/Si systems. X-Ray diffractometry (XRD) analys es showed the presence of strong (200)-preferred orientation in the Co-sili cide films formed from Co0.92Ta0.08/Si systems. We observed that Co-silicid e films formed from Co0.92Ta0.08/Si systems maintained low sheet resistance values upon annealing at 950 degreesC, while those of Co-silicide from Co/ Si systems increased significantly. The improvement of the thermal stabilit y of the Co-silicide films from Co0.92Ta0.08/Si systems is due to the forma tion of Ta-compounds such as the TaSi2 phase at the grain boundaries or at the surface of the CoSi2 films.