In this thesis, the existence and uniqueness of gradient trajectories near an A2singularity are analysed. The A2-singularity is called a birth-death critical point in the real case. The birth-death critical point appears in a one-parameter family of functions. Such a family of functions has precisely two Morse critical points of index difference one, on the birth side. The result of the real case states that these two critical points are joined by a unique gradient trajectory up to time-shift. Here the gradient flow is defined with respect to any family of Riemannian metrics. This can be viewed as a converse to Smale’s cancellation theorem. We also look at the complex analogue of the result in Picard–Lefschetz theory. This analogue considers a holomorphic one-parameter family with an A2-singularity. Such a family has two critical Morse critical points near the singularity for every small non-zero parameter. We prove that the two Lagrangian vanishing cycles associated to these critical points intersect transversally in exactly one point in all regular fibres along a straight line. The result is obtained by analysing the gradient trajectories of the real part of these functions. Both proofs start with a normal form in local coordinates for such families of functions. The gradient equations in these coordinates can be rescaled into a fast-slow system of non-linear differential equation. Existence will rely on an adiabatic limit analysis whereas uniqueness follows from a Conley index pair construction. The latter construction will also show that connecting gradient trajectories cannot leave the local charts. Even though the proof of these two results follow from similar lines of argument, the real case cannot be reduced to the complex case and vice versa.

Doctoral Thesis by

Strained silicon is now an integral feature of the latest generation of transistors and electronic devices because of the associated enhancement in carrier mobility. Strain is also expected to have an important role in future devices based on nanowires and in optoelectronic components. Different strategies have been used to engineer strain in devices, leading to complex strain distributions in two and three dimensions. Developing methods of strain measurement at the nanoscale has therefore been an important objective in recent years but has proved elusive in practice: none of the existing techniques combines the necessary spatial resolution, precision and field of view. For example, Raman spectroscopy or X-ray diffraction techniques can map strain at the micrometre scale, whereas transmission electron microscopy allows strain measurement at the nanometre scale but only over small sample areas. Here we present a technique capable of bridging this gap and measuring strain to high precision, with nanometre spatial resolution and for micrometre fields of view. Our method combines the advantages of moire techniques with the flexibility of off-axis electron holography and is also applicable to relatively thick samples, thus reducing the influence of thin-film relaxation effects.

Nanoscale holographic interferometry for strain measurements in electronic devices

Towards implementation of a nickel silicide process for CMOS technologies

Metal silicides have played an indispensable role in the rapid developments of microelectronics since PtSi was first used to improve the rectifying characteristics of diodes in early 1960s. This wo ...

Metal silicides in CMOS technology : Past, present, and future trends

Ion-beam-induced amorphization in Si has attracted significant interest since the beginning of the use of ion implantation for the fabrication of Si devices. A number of theoretical calculations and experiments were designed to provide a better understanding of the mechanisms behind the crystal-to-amorphous transition in Si. Nowadays, a renewed interest in the modeling of amorphization mechanisms at atomic level has arisen due to the use of preamorphizing implants and high dopant implantation doses for the fabrication of nanometric-scale Si devices. In this paper we will describe the most significant experimental observations related to the ion-beam-induced amorphization in Si and the models that have been developed to describe the process. Amorphous Si formation by ion implantation is the result of a critical balance between the damage generation and its annihilation. Implantation cascades generate different damage configurations going from isolated point defects and point defect clusters in essentially ...

https://www.ele.uva.es/~mmm/papers/2004_Pelaz_JAP_96.pdf

Ion-beam-induced amorphization and recrystallization in silicon

On annealing a boron implanted Si sample at similar to800 degreesC, boron in the tail of the implanted profile diffuses very fast, faster than the normal thermal diffusion by a factor 100 or more. ...

Transient enhanced diffusion of Boron in Si

Ni-silicide phase formation with and without a Ti capping layer was studied by sheet resistance, x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Ni monosilicide is found to be the stable phase in a temperature range from 400 to 600 °C. At lower temperatures the Ni2Si phase is found to be present. For temperatures higher than 700 °C NiSi is converted into NiSi2. Pyramidal NiSi2 precipitates were found to grow epitaxially along the Si〈111〉 planes for annealing temperatures as low as 310 °C. The epitaxial NiSi2 grains were found to disappear when the annealing temperature is increased. Stress buildup during Ni silicidation was measured in situ and could be correlated to the formation of the different Ni-silicide phases. The stress induced by Ni-monosilicide formation compares favorably to the stress induced by Co disilicide and Ti disilicide. The average silicon consumption required to obtain a certain sheet resistance was found to be 35% lower for Ni monosilicide compared for Co disilicide. It was f...

Materials aspects, electrical performance, and scalability of Ni silicide towards sub-0.13 μm technologies

Ni- and Co-based silicides for advanced CMOS applications

We investigate the thermal stability of boron-doped junctions formed by Ge preamorphization and solid phase epitaxial regrowth Isochronal annealing and characterization by sheet resistance, secondary-ion mass spectrometry, and spreading-resistance measurement are used to extract detailed information on the thermal stability of the boron activation Using a previously established model of self-interstitial defect evolution from clusters to dislocation loops, we perform simulations of the release of interstitials from the end-of-range region The simulations indicate that the measured deactivation is driven by interstitials emerging from the end-of-range defect region

Evidence on the mechanism of boron deactivation in Ge-preamorphized ultrashallow junctions

Material issues that impact the applicability of Ni based silicides to CMOS flows were studied, including the excessive silicidation of narrow features, the growth kinetics of Ni 2 Si and NiSi on single-crystalline and poly-crystalline silicon and the thermal degradation mechanisms. Ni 2 Si was found to grow by diffusion controlled kinetics with an activation energy of about 1.55 eV on single-crystalline Si. As a result, the excessive silicidation in small features can be reduced in a 2-step Ni-silicide process by reducing the thermal budget of the first RTP step. The mechanisms of thermal degradation of NiSi were studied. Thin NiSi films were found to degrade morphologically while still in the monosilicide phase. Thick NiSi films degrade morphologically at low temperatures and by transformation to NiSi 2 at high temperatures. The reaction of Ni with SiGe substrates and the effect of Ge on the thermal degradation of the Ni-germanosilicide were investigated. Activation energies for the thermal degradation of Ni(SiGe) on SiGe were found to be significantly smaller than the values found for the thermal degradation of NiSi on pure Si. The effect of alloying Ni with Pt or Ta was studied. NiSi films alloyed with Pt or Ta are found to be thermally more stable compared to pure NiSi. Alloying with Pt was found to improve the thermal stability of NiSi on narrow poly-Si gates. The kinetics of Ni 2 Si and NiSi formation on poly silicon were determined as well as their dependence on dopants. The presence of B in high doses was found to slow down the silicide formation significantly. Dopant segregation to the NiSi/oxide interface was observed, which is believed to be responsible for the observed shifts in work function. The sheet resistance of fully Ni-silicided 100 nm poly Si/oxide stacks is found to be stable up to 800 °C.

Richard Lindsay

Papers

Transient enhanced diffusion of Boron in Si

Materials aspects, electrical performance, and scalability of Ni silicide towards sub-0.13 μm technologies

Ni- and Co-based silicides for advanced CMOS applications

Evidence on the mechanism of boron deactivation in Ge-preamorphized ultrashallow junctions

Ni based silicides for 45 nm CMOS and beyond