The Effect of Carrier Spilling on Spreading Resistance Profiling (SRP) Accuracy

Introduction

Spreading Resistance Profiling (SRP) retains its popularity in the semiconductor industry by an inexpensive means of capturing dopant profile information. However, device engineers often incorporate SRP data into process simulation studies without properly considering SRP’s many limitations. Failing to account for these limitations jeopardizes the reliability of the data and potentially lead designers to incorrect conclusions about a device.

This article briefly reviews the general concepts behind spreading resistance profiling and analyzes the impact of carrier spilling on both simulation studies and SRP accuracy. Finally, this article demonstrates how to reliably and accurately into a simulation study. The purpose of this article is not to discourage the use of SRP measurements, but rather to offer suggestions for using SRP measurements in order to obtain the most accurate results.