Highly stable sputtered NilnW refractory ohmic contact to n-type GaAs

A thermally stable, low specific resistivity NiInW contact was fabricated by the use of magnetron cathodic sputtering deposition. The device yield and fabrication cost were improved by a one-step annealing technique. It was shown that the electrical behavior of the fabricated contact has been correlated to the presence of phases at the metal/GaAs interface. The interfacial microstructure was found to be stable up to a temperature of 400 degrees Centigrade.