Physical identification of gate metal interdiffusion in GaAs PHEMTs

The Ti metal interdiffusion of Ti/Pt/Au gate metal stacks in 0.15-μm GaAs PHEMTs subjected to high-temperature accelerated lifetest has been physically identified using scanning transmission electron microscopy. Further energy dispersive analysis with X-ray (EDX) analysis confirms the Ti diffusion into the AlGaAs Schottky barrier layer and the decrease of Schottky barrier height suggests the Ti-AlGaAs intermetallic formation, which is consistent with previous Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies. The Ti metal interdiffusion reduces the separation of the gate metal and InGaAs channel, thus leading to a slight Gm increase, positive shift in pinchoff voltage, and S21 increase during the preliminary portion of the lifetest. Accordingly, the Ti interdiffusion effect implies that the lifetime of GaAs PHEMTs subjected to high-temperature accelerated lifetest could be dependent upon the initial thickness of the Schottky layer underneath the gate metal.