Electrically active defects in Ni-Si silicide studied by deep-level transient spectroscopy

Deep-level defects are introduced into silicon when nickel silicide is formed by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). Experimental results show that the deep-level defects are mainly related to Ni diffusion from the surface. Diffusion coefficients of the defects in Si at the temperature of 400 degreesC are calculated. The concentration of the deep-level defects varies with RTA temperature and the deep-level defects disappear at the annealing temperature above 500 degreesC. The current-voltage (I-V) measurements show that the reverse leakage current is increased by the deep-level defects.