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:
Dec. 14, 2004
Filed:
Sep. 30, 2002
Jiong-Ping Lu, Richardson, TX (US);
Glenn J. Tessmer, Richardson, TX (US);
Melissa M. Hewson, Plano, TX (US);
Donald S. Miles, Plano, TX (US);
Ralf B. Willecke, Dallas, TX (US);
Andrew J. McKerrow, Dallas, TX (US);
Brian K. Kirkpatrick, Allen, TX (US);
Clinton L. Montgomery, Coppell, TX (US);
Texas Instruments Incorporated, Dallas, TX (US);
Abstract
A process for forming nickel silicide and silicon nitride structure in a semiconductor integrated circuit device is described. Good adhesion between the nickel silicide and the silicon nitride is accomplished by passivating the nickel suicide surface with nitrogen. The passivation may be performed by treating the nickel silicide surface with plasma activated nitrogen species. An alternative passivation method is to cover the nickel silicide with a film of metal nitride and heat the substrate to about 500° C. Another alternative method is to sputter deposit silicon nitride on top of nickel silicide.