Thermally stable TiN Schottky contact on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure

Abstract: Evaluation of electrical performance of AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) with titanium nitride (TiN) gate and its thermal stability was presented. The TiN film was formed by reactive sputtering in Ar and N2 ambient by DC magnetron sputtering. No obvious degradation was found in the Schottky contact when the device was thermally treated at 600 °C for 1 h or 850 °C for several minutes. The sheet resistance of the TiN films was increased by thermal treatment. A possible reason is considered to be the oxidation during the annealing process. It shows that the electrical performance of the TiN-gate AlGaN/GaN HFET is thermally stable and can be a possible candidate for a gate material that endures a high-temperature process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]