Tuning the Schottky barrier height of nickel silicide on p-silicon by aluminum segregation

We report the Schottky barrier height (SBH) tuning at the nickel silicide (NiSi)/p-Si junction by the introduction of aluminum (Al) using ion implantation and its segregation after silicidation. The SBH for holes has been found to decrease with increasing concentration of Al at the NiSi/p-Si interface. We demonstrate the achievement of one of the lowest reported SBH for holes of 0.12 eV, with less than 0.1 at. % Al in NiSi, which is promising for application in p-channel Schottky source/drain transistors. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics.