Simple, extremely low resistance contact system to n-InP that does not exhibit metal-semiconductor intermixing during sintering

Abstract
Contact formation to InP is plagued by the violent metal‐semiconductor intermixing that takes place during the contact sintering process. We have discovered a truly unique contact system, involving Au and Ge, which is easily fabricated, which exhibits extremely low values of contact resistivity, and in which there is virtually no metal‐semiconductor interdiffusion, even after extended sintering. We present a description of this contact system and suggest possible mechanisms to explain the observed behavior.