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Nb Contacts to GaAs: Thermal Stability and Phase Formation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 February 2011

Kevin J. Schulz ,
Xiang-Yun Zheng  and
Y. Austin Chang
Kevin J. Schulz
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering, 1509 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706
Xiang-Yun Zheng
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering, 1509 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706
Y. Austin Chang
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Metallurgical and Mineral Engineering, 1509 University Avenue, Madison, WI 53706
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Abstract

The applicability of Nb as a Schottky barrier on GaAs depends to a large extent on the thermal stability of the contacts. In this study, bulk diffusion couple and phase diagram studies in addition to thin film studies were completed to understand the stability of and the reactions at the Nb/GaAs interface. Nb thin films were deposited onto GaAs substrates by dc magnetron sputtering and were annealed in the temperature range 300 to 1000°C. Analysis was done using plan-TEM and XTEM. The Nb/GaAs interface was found to break down into a series of binary compounds above 500°C. Bulk diffusion couples annealed at 600°C were analyzed using an electron microprobe. The stable sequence of phases formed in the couple, i.e., the diffusion path, was determined and was used to rationalize the observed compound formation in the thin film contact system.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 108 , 1987 , 455
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1988

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Footnotes

*

This work was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-FGO2-86ER452754

References

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