Phase State Analysis of Nickel Silicides in Complementary Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Device Using Plasmon Energy Map

Phase states of nickel silicides in a complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) device were investigated using energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy (EF-TEM). Differences in plasmon energy at each location of the device were identified in two dimensions using a plasmon energy map to analyze the phase states of nickel silicides. We determined that the near side of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) corresponds to the NiSi phase in the gate electrode and that the contact corresponds to the NiSi2 phase, although determining the different phase states of nickel silicides using the contrast of a TEM image was difficult.