Growth kinetics and boron doping of very high Ge content SiGe for source/drain engineering

We have studied the in-situ boron doping of high Ge content Si1-xGex layers (x = 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5). These layers have been grown at low pressure (20 Torr) and low temperature (600-650 degrees C with a heavily chlorinated chemistry on blanket Si(0 0 1) substrates. Such a chemistry yields a full selectivity versus SiO2 (isolation) and Si3N4 (sidewall spacers) on patterned wafers with gate stacks. We have quantified the impact of the diborane flow on the SiGe layer crystalline quality, its resistivity, the SiGe:B growth rate and the apparent Ge concentration. Resistivity values lower than 1 m Omega cm are easily achieved, all the more so for high Ge content layers. The SiGe growth rate increases and the apparent Ge concentration (from X-ray diffraction) decreases as the diborane flow increases. B atoms (much smaller than Si or Ge) indeed partially compensate the compressive strain in the SiGe:B layers. We have also probed the in-situ boron and phosphorus doping of Si at 750 degrees C, 20 Torr with a heavily chlorinated chemistry. The B ions concentration increases linearly with the diborane flow, then saturates at a value close to 4 x 10(19)cm(-3). By contrast, the P ions concentration increases sub-linearly with the phosphine flow, with a maximum value close to 9 x 10(18)cm(-3). Adding diborane (phosphine) to the gaseous mixture leads to a sharp increase (decrease) of the Si:B (the Si:P) growth rates, which has to be taken into account in device layers. All the know-how acquired will be most handy for the formation of in-situ doped recessed or raised sources and drains in metal-oxide semiconductor devices. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.