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Title: Sequential lateral solidification of silicon thin films on low-k dielectrics for low temperature integration

Abstract

We present the excimer laser crystallization of amorphous silicon on a low dielectric constant (low-k) insulator for very large scale integration monolithic 3D integration and demonstrate that low dielectric constant materials are suitable substrates for 3D integration through laser crystallization of silicon thin films. We crystallized 100 nm amorphous silicon on top of SiO{sub 2} and SiCOH (low-k) dielectrics, at different material thicknesses (1 μm, 0.75 μm, and 0.5 μm). The amorphous silicon crystallization on low-k dielectric requires 35% less laser energy than on an SiO{sub 2} dielectric. This difference is related to the thermal conductivity of the two materials, in agreement with one dimensional simulations of the crystallization process. We analyzed the morphology of the material through defect-enhanced microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. SEM micrographs show that polycrystalline silicon is characterized by micron-long grains with an average width of 543 nm for the SiO{sub 2} sample and 570 nm for the low-k samples. Comparison of the Raman spectra does not show any major difference in film quality for the two different dielectrics, and polycrystalline silicon peaks are closely placed around 517 cm{sup −1}. From X-ray diffraction analysis, the material crystallized on SiO{sub 2} shows a preferential (111) crystal orientation. In the SiCOH case, themore » 111 peak strength decreases dramatically and samples do not show preferential crystal orientation. A 1D finite element method simulation of the crystallization process on a back end of line structure shows that copper (Cu) damascene interconnects reach a temperature of 70 °C or lower with a 0.5 μm dielectric layer between the Cu and the molten Si layer, a favorable condition for monolithic 3D integration.« less

Authors:
; ;  [1]; ;  [2]; ;  [3]
  1. Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)
  2. IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 (United States)
  3. Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, Division of Material Science and Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22395545
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Applied Physics Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 105; Journal Issue: 24; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY; COPPER; CRYSTALLIZATION; DIELECTRIC MATERIALS; EXCIMER LASERS; FINITE ELEMENT METHOD; LAYERS; MORPHOLOGY; PERMITTIVITY; POLYCRYSTALS; RAMAN SPECTRA; RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY; SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY; SILICON; SILICON OXIDES; SOLIDIFICATION; SUBSTRATES; THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY; THIN FILMS; X-RAY DIFFRACTION

Citation Formats

Carta, Fabio, Hlaing, Htay, Kymissis, Ioannis, Gates, Stephen M., Edelstein, Daniel C., Limanov, Alexander B., and Im, James S. Sequential lateral solidification of silicon thin films on low-k dielectrics for low temperature integration. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4904938.
Carta, Fabio, Hlaing, Htay, Kymissis, Ioannis, Gates, Stephen M., Edelstein, Daniel C., Limanov, Alexander B., & Im, James S. Sequential lateral solidification of silicon thin films on low-k dielectrics for low temperature integration. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4904938
Carta, Fabio, Hlaing, Htay, Kymissis, Ioannis, Gates, Stephen M., Edelstein, Daniel C., Limanov, Alexander B., and Im, James S. 2014. "Sequential lateral solidification of silicon thin films on low-k dielectrics for low temperature integration". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4904938.
@article{osti_22395545,
title = {Sequential lateral solidification of silicon thin films on low-k dielectrics for low temperature integration},
author = {Carta, Fabio and Hlaing, Htay and Kymissis, Ioannis and Gates, Stephen M. and Edelstein, Daniel C. and Limanov, Alexander B. and Im, James S.},
abstractNote = {We present the excimer laser crystallization of amorphous silicon on a low dielectric constant (low-k) insulator for very large scale integration monolithic 3D integration and demonstrate that low dielectric constant materials are suitable substrates for 3D integration through laser crystallization of silicon thin films. We crystallized 100 nm amorphous silicon on top of SiO{sub 2} and SiCOH (low-k) dielectrics, at different material thicknesses (1 μm, 0.75 μm, and 0.5 μm). The amorphous silicon crystallization on low-k dielectric requires 35% less laser energy than on an SiO{sub 2} dielectric. This difference is related to the thermal conductivity of the two materials, in agreement with one dimensional simulations of the crystallization process. We analyzed the morphology of the material through defect-enhanced microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. SEM micrographs show that polycrystalline silicon is characterized by micron-long grains with an average width of 543 nm for the SiO{sub 2} sample and 570 nm for the low-k samples. Comparison of the Raman spectra does not show any major difference in film quality for the two different dielectrics, and polycrystalline silicon peaks are closely placed around 517 cm{sup −1}. From X-ray diffraction analysis, the material crystallized on SiO{sub 2} shows a preferential (111) crystal orientation. In the SiCOH case, the 111 peak strength decreases dramatically and samples do not show preferential crystal orientation. A 1D finite element method simulation of the crystallization process on a back end of line structure shows that copper (Cu) damascene interconnects reach a temperature of 70 °C or lower with a 0.5 μm dielectric layer between the Cu and the molten Si layer, a favorable condition for monolithic 3D integration.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4904938},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22395545}, journal = {Applied Physics Letters},
issn = {0003-6951},
number = 24,
volume = 105,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2014},
month = {Mon Dec 15 00:00:00 EST 2014}
}