Thermal Immune NiGermanide for High Performance Ge MOSFETs on Ge-on- Si Substrate Utilizing $ \hbox{Ni}_{0.95}\hbox{Pd}_{0.05}$ Alloy

Highly thermally stable Ni germanide technology for high performance germanium metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (Ge MOSFETs) is proposed, utilizing Pd incorporation into Ni germanide. The proposed Ni germanide shows not only the improvement of thermal stability but also the reduction of hole barrier height, which can improve the device on-current by reducing the Ni germanide to p+ source/drain contact resistance. The proposed Ni germanide showed a stable sheet resistance of up to 500degC 30-min postgermanidation annealing due to the suppression of agglomeration and oxidation of Ni germanide and the diffusion of Ni and Ge atoms by the incorporated Pd. Therefore, the proposed Ni0.95Pd0.05 alloy could be promising for the high mobility Ge MOSFET applications.