Formation of NiSiGe on compressivly strained SiGe thin layers

In this work, we studied the nickel germano-silicide formation on thin SiGe layers epitaxially-grown on silicon substrate. Single crystal NiSiGe film with a thickness of 5.5nm was formed at 400°C and showed a low specific resistance of 30uΩcm. A thicker NiSiGe layer resulted from a thicker Ni showed poly-crystalline structure with rough surface and interface. We also found Ge and Ni diffuse simultaneously to the silicon substrate during germane-silicidation, causing degradation of the NiSiGe layers.