Nickel-platinum (NiPt) alloy may be selected as a precursor for a nickel-based silicide contact. Adding platinum can change phase and film stability, but the result depends on alloy composition, exposed silicon, film geometry, and later heat. The available 7nm flow does not identify NiPt; its link gives contact-integration context.
Contact Context for Nickel Platinum
The 7nm FinFET flow overview places silicidation near contact formation. Its labels do not identify a NiPt composition or deposition method. The 40nm Ti/TiN and tungsten images are downstream contact examples, not NiPt formation images. The overview is public; locked 7nm steps still require the corresponding entitlement.
40nm contact-stack panels show downstream context, not NiPt formation or composition.
Process map
7nm FinFET
Locate the silicide module; the flow does not identify a nickel–platinum alloy in that step.
Physics & Mechanism
A metal film on exposed silicon can react during heating to form a silicide. Phase selection, silicon consumption, continuity, and electrical behavior depend on the reaction sequence and adjacent materials . For nickel-based silicides, platinum is one possible alloying addition. A Ni(Pt) silicide experiment on silicon and polysilicon lines found changed phase stability under its tested conditions; it does not establish a universal platinum fraction, phase threshold, resistance change, or preferred reaction path.
Process Principles
The integration must distinguish the deposited alloy from the reacted silicide, select the intended silicon surfaces, control the thermal sequence, remove unreacted material when appropriate, and then verify continuity and contact resistance. A drawing of a later liner or plug cannot establish the alloy used at the earlier reaction.
Challenges & Failure Modes
Possible concerns include discontinuous silicide, an unintended phase, excessive silicon consumption, interface contamination, and resistance variation. Which concern dominates must be determined for the actual stack; a small alloy addition does not guarantee that all are solved.
From Principle to Production Flow
If a flow uses NiPt, its material identity and reaction sequence need direct process evidence. The 7nm flow overview is related to contacts but does not supply that proof. Compare nickel silicide and self-aligned silicide for neighboring concepts.
Technology Node Evolution
Different contact geometries change the allowable silicon consumption, thermal budget, and resistance target. Alloy choices therefore have to be checked against each device and contact architecture. The visible course topology does not establish a node-by-node NiPt adoption history.
Related Processes
Nickel silicide formation connects to self-aligned silicide, contact cleaning, and later metal fill. Those adjacent operations do not by themselves identify NiPt.
References
Silicon VLSI Technology - Full
James D. Plummer, Michael D. Deal, Peter B. Griffin
Silicon VLSI Technology · ISBN 978-0130850379