Sematech to Reveal Advancements in Controlling Parasitic Contact Resistance in Advanced CMOS Devices

Sematech said it is developing, screening, and characterizing new materials, tools, and processes that enable CMOS scaling and emerging technologies that will be demonstrated during this week's 2009 VLSI Technology Symposium at the Rihga Royal Hotel in Kyoto, Japan.

In one area of investigation, technologists from Sematech's Materials and Emerging Technologies program have demonstrated significant reductions in Schottky barrier height and contact resistance that are critical for continued enhancement of device performance in future technology nodes.

As scaling continues, one of the most pressing concerns of CMOS technology beyond the 45 nm node is the contact resistance in source/drain regions, which comes from a relatively high Schottky barrier between n-type doped Si and nickel silicide. Sematech researchers will outline recent progress in exploring alternative interface structures, reducing the parasitic resistances of the source and drain regions and improving mobility.

"Through intense research and development efforts, Sematech has developed manufacturable solutions with new materials and interfaces that reduce source-drain parasitic resistance. These practical implementation approaches enable future advanced gate and high-mobility channels," said Raj Jammy, Sematech's vice president of emerging technologies. "We're continuing to push CMOS technology to the limits, while we test the feasibility of emerging next-generation technologies."

The International Symposium on VLSI Technology, Technology and Circuits is sponsored by the IEEE Electron Devices and Solid-State Circuits societies and the Japan Society of Applied Physics in cooperation with the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers. VLSI Japan is one of many industry forums Sematech uses to collaborate with scientists and engineers from corporations, universities, and other research institutions, many of whom are research partners.

Sematech, the global consortium of semiconductor manufacturers, has set global direction, enabled flexible collaboration, and bridged strategic R&D to manufacturing.

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