An accurate method to extract specific contact resistivity using cross-bridge Kelvin resistors

• Published in: IEEE electron device letters Vol. 6; no. 9; pp. 441 - 443
• Main Authors: Loh, W.M., Swirhun, S.E., Crabbe, E., Saraswat, K., Swanson, R.M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY IEEE 01.09.1985; Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Area measurement; Conductivity; Contact resistance; Current measurement; Electrical resistance measurement; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Interfaces; Kelvin; Proximity effect; Resistors; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Size measurement; Two dimensional displays; Contact resistance; Electric contact; Measurement method
• ISSN: 0741-3106; 1558-0563
• DOI: 10.1109/EDL.1985.26185

The cross-bridge Kelvin resistor structure is used to extract true interfacial specific contact resistivity (ρ c ). Two-dimensional (2-D) simulations demonstrate that the sublinear behavior of the measured contact resistance versus contact area on a log-log plot is due to current crowding around the contact which results from the contact window size being smaller than the diffusion width. The effect is more pronounced for low values of ρ c . Excellent agreement has been found between the simulations and measured data of contact resistances. An accurate value of ρ c has been extracted for the case of PtSi to n + polysilicon contacts.