Salicide

The term salicide refers to a technology used in the microelectronics industry used to form electrical contacts between the ] and the supporting interconnect structure. The salicide process involves the reaction of a metal thin film with silicon in the active regions of the device, ultimately forming a metal silicide contact through a series of annealing and/or etch processes. The term 'salicide' is a compaction of the phrase self-aligned silicide. The description 'self-aligned' suggests that the contact formation does not require photolithography patterning processes, as opposed to a non-aligned technology such as polycide. The term salicide refers to a technology used in the microelectronics industry used to form electrical contacts between the ] and the supporting interconnect structure. The salicide process involves the reaction of a metal thin film with silicon in the active regions of the device, ultimately forming a metal silicide contact through a series of annealing and/or etch processes. The term 'salicide' is a compaction of the phrase self-aligned silicide. The description 'self-aligned' suggests that the contact formation does not require photolithography patterning processes, as opposed to a non-aligned technology such as polycide.