High performance Ge ultra-shallow junctions fabricated by a novel formation technique featuring spin-on dopant and laser annealing for sub-10 nm technology applications

In this work, we explored a novel technique for the formation of ultra-shallow p+/n and n+/p junctions on Ge substrate using the spin-on dopant (SOD) followed by laser annealing (IA). The junction depth and doping profiles were extracted and compared between Ge junctions activated by LA and by the conventional rapid thermal annealing (RTA). It is experimentally confirmed that the process of SOD followed by LA method outperformed that by RTA technique in terms of the ultra-shallow junction depth, higher surface doping concentration and steeper doping profiles. Therefore, the high performance Ge p+/n and n+/p junctions fabricated by SOD followed by LA method exhibit suppressed junction leakage current and raised on/off ratios, making this novel technique a promising way for source/drain formation in future technology nodes. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.