Thermally stable and nonspiking Pd/Sb(Mn) ohmic contact to p‐GaAs

A thermally stable, nonspiking ohmic contact to p‐GaAs has been developed based on the solid‐phase regrowth mechanism. The contact metallization consists of a layered structure of Pd(250 A)/Sb(100 A)/Mn(10 A)/Pd(250 A)/p‐GaAs. Thermal annealing of the contact between 300 and 600 °C for 10 s yields contact resistivities in the range of low 10−6 Ω cm2 on substrates doped to 2.5×1018 cm−3. A contact resistivity of 4.5×10−7 Ω cm2 can be obtained after annealing at 500 °C on samples with a doping concentration of 4.5×1019 cm−3. The contact metallization remains uniform in thickness and the contact interface is flat after the contact is formed. The consumption of the substrate is limited to less than a hundred angstroms. Contact resistivities are stable at 400 °C.