Impact of Nanosecond Laser Annealing on the Formation of Titanium Silicides

In view of contacts for advanced image sensors, the formation of Ti silicides is explored by means of nanosecond laser annealing (NLA) combined to rapid thermal processing (RTP) to tentatively obtain ohmic contacts within a limited thermal budget. Leveraging sheet resistance and X-ray diffraction measurements, coupled to electron microscopy observations, the various phases obtained after NLA and after a subsequent RTP are identified and the involved mechanisms discussed.