Stable tantalum silicide Schottky barrier on n-type gallium arsenide evaluated at elevated temperatures

The high-temperature stability of sputtered tantalum silicide contacts on gallium arsenide has been evaluated. Diodes consisting of Ta silicide on epitaxial n(1.9 x 10 to the 17th cu cm; 0.23 micron)/n+ GaAs substrate were annealed at temperatures from 375 C to 800 C. Results show that the ideality factor, barrier height and reverse breakdown voltage remain stable at values of 1.1, 0.79 V and 9 V, respectively. MESFETs with Ta silicide gates exhibited similar drain current/voltage characteristics as conventional Cr/Au gate devices.