Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1997

HIGHLIGHTS OF RGC-FUNDED PROJECTS the deep-submicron domain, the delay time attributed to interconnections wil l gradually take over as the dominant factor in the operating speed of the IC. The delay time w i l l be r educed if the electrical resistance of the i n t e r connec t i ons is lowered. Lowe r resistance w i l l also lead to less heat dissipation. This a l l ows devices to be pa c k ed mo r e densely, h e n c e, t he siz e o f t h e IC c an be minimized. To enhance the continued evolution of smaller an d smaller devices in VLSI/ ULSI (very large-scale integration/ultra large-scale integration) circuits , new and better metallization schemes must be i n t r o d u c e d. The r ea l i z a t i on of such schemes requires a large R & D effort to find out the right materials and the right processes. The results of a research project conducted by Prof. S.P. Wong and Prof. Ian H. Wilson in this area, supported by a grant of HK$568,000 f r om the Research Grants Council, are expected to contribute to the advancement of the metallization technology. What Are Metal Silicides? While pure metals have good electrical conductivity, they are not suitable, for d i f f e r e n t reasons, f o r VLS I / ULS I applications. 1 Metal silicides, o n the other hand, are compounds formed by metals and silicon. Many of them exhibit metallic conduction behaviour and have attracted much attention in the past three decades in the context of metallization applications because of their l ow and me t a l - l i ke resistivity, high temperature stability, and high electromigration resistance. 1 What Is Ion Implantation? Though metal silicides have already b e e n e m p l o y e d i n a n u m b e r o f metallization schemes in the production of modern IC, the formation of silicides by Prof. S.P. Wong obtained his B.Sc., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in physics from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He joined the University's Department of Electronics (now renamed Department of Electronic Engineering) i n 1985 as lecturer and was promoted to senior lecturer rank in 1992. Prof. Wong's major research interest is in electroni c materials and technology, especially in relation to ion implantation. He is a member of the Materials Research Society, USA an d a founding council member of the newly established Hong Kong Materials Research Society. Prof. Kan H. Wilson received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Reading, UK, in 1962 and 1966 respectively. Before joining The Chinese University as professor of electronic engineering in 1991, he was distinguished visiting professor to the Physics Department of Arizona State University, USA. His current research interest includes ion- assisted deposition of metal, dielectric and semiconducting thin films, scanning probe microscopy of electronic materials, and the fabrication of new devices by epitaxy and ion implantation. Prof. Wilson is a fello w of the Institute of Physics, a Chartered Engineer, and the founding president of the Hong Kong Materials Research Society. Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 1997 3 2