A Critical Evaluation of Tantalum Nitride Thin Film Resistors

An extensive evaluation program has been carried out on newly developed tantalum nitride thin film resistors that were specifically prepared for this purpose and which included several levels of four manufacturing variables, namely substrate material, film thickness, line width and anodizing voltage. Resistors were subjected to a series of non-destructive screening tests followed by severe environmental evaluation tests. Preliminary test results indicate that tantalum nitride thin film resistors with a high degree of reliability and stability can be commercially manufactured.