The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 07, 2001
Filed:
Jul. 12, 1999
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Austin, TX (US);
Abstract
There is provided a semiconductor device comprising, for example, a MOS structure having a low electrical resistance in contacts and local interconnects, and a method for fabricating the device. When openings are formed in a dielectric region of a MOS structure, the thin metal silicide layer on top of a drain/source region is diminished due to the limited selectivity of the etch process and the need to over-etch to obtain appropriate electrical contacts. Consequently, the contact resistance is increased resulting in an increased contact resistance. Therefore, a bilayer metal is deposited on the metal silicide layer and the surface of the openings, wherein the metal layer that is in contact with the metal silicide layer is preferably the same metal as the metal of the metal silicide layer. In a subsequent annealing process, the metal of the bilayer partially converts into metal silicide, thereby increasing the initial metal silicide layer and concurrently reducing the contact resistance.