Characterization of transient process phenomena using a temperature-tolerant metallurgy

Characterization of transient processes such as gettering, damage annealing, and rapid thermal treatments is a difficult problem, particularly in terms of identifying and understanding the physical processes involved. In this letter, a technique is described in which the aluminum metal layer in a conventional integrated-circuit structure is replaced by tungsten-silicide (WSi
2
). Since WSi
2
is stable at processing temperatures, this technique allows one to anneal finished devices and to study the effect of single or multiple heat treatments upon device performance. Such devices serve as a vehicle for characterizing and understanding the high-temperature processes. We demonstrate here the stability of WSi
2
during high-temperature anneals and discuss various experiments that such a technique allows.