An investigation of the Pd-In-Ge nonspiking Ohmic contact to n-GaAs using transmission line measurement, Kelvin, and Cox and Strack structures

Abstract
The Pd‐In‐Ge nonspiking Ohmic contact to n‐GaAs has been investigated using the transmission line, the Kelvin, and the Cox and Strack structures. It has been found that a layered structure of Pd/In/Pd/n‐GaAs with 10–20 Å of Ge imbedded in the Pd layer adjacent to the GaAs can lead to a hybrid contact. When the Ohmic formation temperature is above 550 °C, a layer of InxGa1−xAs doped with Ge is formed between the GaAs structure and the metallization. When the Ohmic formation temperature is below 550 °C, a regrown layer of GaAs also doped with Ge is formed at the metallization/GaAs interface. The contact resistivity of 2–3×10−7 Ω cm2 for this contact structure is nearly independent of the contact area from 900 to 0.2 μm2. Low‐temperature Ohmic characteristics and thermal stability are also examined.