ELECTRICAL STUDIES OF RAPIDLY ANNEALED NI AND PD/N-GAAS SCHOTTKY DIODES

The effects of rapid thermal annealing 1-100 s on the electrical characteristics of Ni and Pd contacts on n-GaAs are studied. At annealing temperature (T-a) of 300 degrees C and 450 degrees C the contacts remained quite stable. At annealing temperature of 600 degrees C the contacts showed sign of degradation if they are annealed for more than 40 s. Degradation in Pd contacts was more pronounced than in Ni contacts. Consumption of GaAs and formation of different reactions at the interface, resulting in a layer containing defects and inhomogeneity are used to explain the observations.