Development of enhanced depth-resolution technique for shallow dopant profiles

A rapid shrinkage in the minimum feature size of integrated circuits requires analysis of dopants in their shallow source-drain and their extensions with an enhanced depth resolution. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) combining a medium-energy He ion beam with a detector of improved energy resolution should meet the requirement of a depth resolution better than 5 nm at a depth of 10-20 nm in the next 10 years. A toroidal electrostatic analyzer of 4 x 10(-3) energy resolution has been used to detect the scattered ions of a medium-energy He ion beam. Five keV As+ implanted Si or SiO2 samples were measured. Depth profiling results using the above technique are compared with those of glancing-angle RBS by MeV energy He ions. Limitations in the energy resolution due to various energy-spread contributions have been clarified. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.