Granted Patent B2

US 9,331,155 · App. 14/249,108 · Granted May 3, 2016

Abstract

Claims (22)

1. A semiconductor device comprising at least one active layer on a substrate and a first contact to the at least one active layer, the first contact comprising a metal in contact with the at least one active layer and a titanium tungsten nitride (TiW(N)) layer on the metal,

wherein the metal is nickel,

wherein the first contact is laterally delimited by an electrically insulating material,

wherein the semiconductor device comprises a further contact that is entirely laterally separated from the first contact by the electrically insulating material such that the first contact and the further contact are electrically insulated from each other, the further contact comprising a Ti/Al metallization stack in contact with the at least one active layer and a TiW(N) layer on the Ti/Al metallization stack,

wherein the first contact is a Schottky contact and the further contact is an ohmic contact.

2. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one active layer comprises a GaN layer.

3. The semiconductor device of claim 2 , wherein the GaN layer is separated from the at least one contact by an AlGaN layer.

4. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the electrically insulating material is SiN.

5. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the TiW(N) layer comprises a stack of sublayers including a first TiW sublayer, a second TiW sublayer and a TiW(N) sublayer inbetween the first and second TiW sublayers, and wherein the TiW(N) sublayer preferably has a thickness exceeding the combined thickness of the first and second TiW sublayers.

6. A semiconductor device comprising at least one active layer on a substrate and a first contact to the at least one active layer, the first contact comprising a metal in contact with the at least one active layer and a titanium tungsten nitride (TiW(N)) layer on the metal,

wherein the metal is nickel,

wherein the first contact is laterally delimited by an electrically insulating material,

wherein the semiconductor device comprises a further contact that is entirely laterally separated from the first contact by the electrically insulating material such that the first contact and the further contact are electrically insulated from each other, the further contact comprising a Ti/Al metallization stack in contact with the at least one active layer and a TiW(N) layer on the Ti/Al metallization stack,

wherein the first contact is a gate contact and the further contact is one of a source and drain contact.

7. A semiconductor device comprising:

a substrate;

at least one active layer on the substrate;

a gate contact connected to the at least one active layer, the gate contact comprising nickel and having a titanium tungsten nitride (TiW(N)) layer on top of the nickel and opposite the at least one active layer;

a source contact connected to the at least one active layer, the source contact comprising a Ti/Al metallization stack with a Ti layer in physical contact with the at least one active layer and an Al layer in physical contact with the Ti layer and a TiW(N) layer on the Ti layer of the Ti/Al metallization stack and opposite the at least one active layer;

a drain contact connected to the at least one active layer, the drain contact comprising a Ti/Al metallization stack with a Ti layer in physical contact with the at least one active layer and an Al layer in physical contact with the Ti layer and a TiW(N) layer on the Ti layer of the Ti/Al metallization stack and opposite the at least one active layer;

wherein the source contact and the drain contact are entirely laterally separated from the gate contact by an electrically insulating material such that the source contact, the drain contact, and the gate contact are electrically insulated from each other.

8. A high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) comprising the semiconductor device of claim 7 .

Assignments (12)