Exploration of High-Pressure Annealing and Microwave Annealing in Palladium Germano-Silicide Formation for Si0.8Ge0.2-Based Complementary Metal-Oxide–Semiconductor Transistors

In this study, forming palladium germano-silicide on Si_0.8Ge_0.2-based complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistors by high-pressure annealing compared to microwave annealing is investigated. Boron-doped Si_0.8Ge_0.2 layers are epitaxially grown on n-type Si wafers, achieving an initial boron concentration of 5 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³, which increase to ≈6 × 10²⁰ cm⁻³ after microwave annealing, reducing sheet resistance. Palladium is deposited using electron beam evaporation to form a 15 nm layer on Si_0.8Ge_0.2 (200 nm)/Si (100) substrates. High-pressure annealing is conducted from 300 to 500 °C in N₂ ambiance at 5 kg cm⁻³, while microwave annealing is performed at 5.8 GHz and 1800–3000 W for 100 s. X-ray diffractometer confirms high-intensity Pd₂Si phase formation, but scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope reveal increased surface roughness and clustering after annealing. Sheet resistance increases from 10.35 Ω sq⁻¹ (unannealed) to 131.8 Ω sq⁻¹ (high-pressure annealing at 300 °C) and 85.8 Ω sq⁻¹ (microwave annealing at 1800 W). In these results, the trade-offs between annealing methods and metal choices for achieving low contact resistance and Schottky barrier heights in p-type Si_0.8Ge_0.2 CMOS circuits are highlighted.