Method for forming nickel silicide film, method for manufacturing semiconductor device, and method for etching nickel silicide

A semiconductor device fabrication method, comprising steps of:

• a step for forming a layer structure containing silicon and nickel on at least one semiconductor region and on at least one insulator region on a substrate at a first substrate temperature which does not cause a silicide reaction;
• and
• a step of the silicide reaction for forming a nickel silicide film containing nickel monosilicide, of which composition is different on the semiconductor region and on the insulator region, by implementing a thermal treatment of the layer structure at a second substrate temperature which causes a nickel monosilicide reaction,
• wherein, in the step for forming the layer structure, a ratio (NNiNsi) of a number of total nickel atoms (NNi) to a number of total silicon atoms (Nsi) existing in a whole layer structure is equal to or more than 1.

A nickel silicide formation method, comprising steps of:

• a step for forming a layer structure containing silicon and nickel on at least one semiconductor region and at least one insulator region on a substrate;
• and
• a step of a silicide reaction for forming a nickel silicide film having a nickel monosilicide composition on the semiconductor region as well as having a nickel-rich composition on the insulator region by implementing a thermal treatment of the layer structure at a second substrate temperature which causes a nickel monosilicide reaction,
• wherein, in a nickel-rich region located on the insulator region of the nickel silicide film, a ratio (NNi/Nsi) of a number of nickel atoms (NNi) to a number of silicon atoms (Nsi) is equal to or more than 1.11.

A nickel silicide formation method, comprising steps of:

• a step for forming a layer structure containing silicon and nickel on at least one semiconductor region and at least one insulator region on a substrate;
• and
• a step of a silicide reaction for forming a nickel silicide film having a nickel monosilicide composition on the semiconductor region as well as having a nickel-rich composition on the insulator region by implementing a thermal treatment of the layer structure at a second substrate temperature which causes a nickel monosilicide reaction,
• wherein a nickel-rich region located on the insulator region of the nickel silicide film has a diffraction peak of Ni2Si in X-ray diffraction pattern.

A nickel silicide formation method, comprising steps of:

• a step for forming a stacked layer film by alternately forming at least one nickel layer and at least one silicon layer on a substrate at a first substrate temperature which does not cause a silicide reaction;
• and
• a step of the silicide reaction for forming a nickel silicide film by implementing a thermal treatment of the stacked layer film at a second substrate temperature which causes a nickel monosilicide reaction,
• wherein, in the step for forming the stacked layer film a ratio of a total silicon layer thickness to a total nickel layer thickness in the stacked layer film is equal to or less than 1.79.

A semiconductor device fabrication method, comprising steps of:

• a step for forming a stacked layer film by alternately forming at least one nickel layer and at least one silicon layer on at least one semiconductor region and on at least one insulator region on a substrate at a first substrate temperature which does not cause a silicide reaction;
• and
• a step of the silicide reaction for forming a nickel silicide film containing nickel monosilicide, of which composition is different on the semiconductor region and on tile insulator region, by implementing a thermal treatment of the stacked layer film at a second substrate temperature which causes nickel monosilicide reaction,
• wherein, in the step for forming the stacked layer film, a ratio of a total silicon layer thickness to a total nickel layer thickness in the stacked layer film is equal to or less than 1.79.

A semiconductor device fabrication method, comprising steps of:

• a step for forming a layer structure containing silicon and nickel on at least one semiconductor region and at least one insulator region on a substrate at a first substrate temperature which does not cause a silicide reaction;
• a step for forming a region having a low crystallity close to an amorphous state located on the insulator region and a region having a high crystallity located on the semiconductor region by implementing a preliminary thermal treatment at a temperature lower than a second substrate temperature;
• a step of etching for removing only the region having the low crystallity close to the amorphous state located on the insulator region;
• and
• a step of the silicide reaction for forming a nickel silicide film with a self-aligning manner only on the semiconductor region by implementing a thermal treatment for the high crystallity region remained on the semiconductor region at the second substrate temperature which causes a nickel monosilicide reaction,
• wherein, in the step for forming the layer structure, a ratio (NNiNsi) of a number of total nickel atoms (NNi) to a number of total silicon atoms (Nsi) existing in a whole layer structure is equal to or more than 1.