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Applied Materials, has announced a new process and chamber to tackle transistor contact engineering issues at the 65nm node and below. Applied's  "Siconi" pre-clean process replaces conventional plasma-based sputter etch technology with a dry, chemical process removes oxidized silicon under high vacuum and is being offered as a module on the Applied Endura ALPS Ni PVD system.

The Sicioni pre-clean addresses the surface preparation challenges of cleaning Silicon prior to the formation of NiSi in a single chamber. It is a highly selective clean-Si (20:1) and SiN (5:1)-that chemically etches oxide, which eliminates queue time issues and the need for queue time control between clean and Ni deposition, required with conventional HF clean. Using a remote plasma source, Sicioni Preclean has been shown to dramatically reduce NiSi2 pyramid defects and improve resistance and leakage current, according to the company.