Characterization and monitoring of silicon-on-insulator fabrication processes by high-resolution x-ray diffraction

High-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) was used to monitor silicon-on-insulator (SOI) processing steps. The use of HRXRD is attractive since it is non-destructive and can be applied directly to product wafers. We show the usefulness of this technique for the characterization of amorphizing implants for shallow junctions, solid phase re-crystallization of implanted junctions, cobalt-silicide formation, and oxidation; all are critical processes for CMOS fabrication on SOI.