NOVEL GaAs SCHOTTKY BARRIER DIODE STRUCTURES

Lisa K. Seidel and Thomas W. Crowe

University of Virginia
Semiconductor Device Laboratory
Charlottesville, VA 22901

Abstract

11. Standard Schottky Barrier Diode

Researchers in fields such as radio astronomy, atmospheric

physics, and plasma diagnostics are interested in detecting
electromagnetic radiation in the millimeter and submillimeter
wavelength range (300 GHz to 3 THz). The receivers used for this
application require a micron-size metal semiconductor contact or
GaAs Schottky barrier diode to convert the high frequency signal to
a lower frequency which can be amplified and analyzed by standard
microwave techniques. Fundamental design tradeoffs limit the
diodes performance in a receiver. This paper discusses two novel
diode structures, the graded doped barrier and the Schottky bamer
membrane diode, which alleviate the devices limitations due to
these tradeoffs, yielding better receiver diodes.

A . Physical Description
Figure 2 is a schematic cross section of a Schottky diode chip.
The n-type GaAs epitaxial layer is grown to a specific thickness and
doping density. Silicon dioxide (Si02) is pyrolitically deposited
onto the GaAs and micron size holes are defined in the oxide using
optical lithography. A small amount of SiOz (200 A) is left at the
bottom of the holes to protect the GaAs during subsequent
processing. The back surface of the wafer is lapped until the chip is
a thickness of 5 mils. The ohmic contact metals (SnNi/Ni/Au) are
electroplated, and the chip is alloyed at roughly 35OOC for 20
seconds to form the ohmic contact. After the wafer is diced into
lOxlOmil chips, the remaining 200A of Si02 is removed and
anodes are formed on the exposed GaAs by electroplating platinum
and a protective layer of gold. The chip is then soldered into a mixer
mount and an individual anode is electrically contacted using a
pointed metal whisker.

I. Introduction
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a high frequency heterodyne
receiver. The input signal, at frequency o, is collected at the
antenna. This signal is then mixed with the local oscillator, OLO,
producing a signal at the intermediate frequency
= I o,- om I .
The mixer is responsible for converting the RF signal to the IF with
minimum loss and minimum added noise. The conversion loss and
receiver noise are limited mainly by the performance of the mixer
element, which is typically a GaAs Schottky diode. For this reason
a significant effort is being made to improve the Schottky barrier
diode.

AN0
MET

n** QaAs SUBSTRATE

n QsAs
EPITAXIAL
LAYER

C 0 NT A C T

Figure 2. Schematic Cross Section of a Schottky Diode Chip

B . Electrical Description
The Schottky barrier diode can be described electrically by the
circuit shown in Figure 3. Frequency conversion occurs in the nonlinear resistance R,(Vj). The series resistance, R,, and the junction
capacitance, Cj, are parasitics which limit the frequency response of
the device. The dc current voltage characteristic can be described
by [I1
V - IR,
I = Is,, exp[
(1)

os:ooR/

-74

F=l
AND BIAS

Figure 1. Block Diagram of a Heterodyne Receiver

where I,,, is the saturation current, V, = qkT/q is the inverse slope

of the log I-V curve, and q is an ideality factor (2 1). A low value
for V, will result in a sharp I-V curve, which reduces the noise
generated by the diode [ 2 ] . Therefore a low V, is desirable.

88CH2571-8/88/0000-0149$100 ( 19881EEE

149

Examination of the models for R, and Cj, reveal their

dependence on diode parameters. The dc series resistance of a
Schottky diode is given by [ 5 ]

R, =

q b p i Nepi A

(3)

ps Nsub

where
tepi

kpi.
1,

Figure 3. Schottky Diode Equivalent Circuit

A sensitive receiver requires not only low noise but also low
conversion loss. This can be achieved if the frequency of operation
is well below the cutoff frequency. As a figure-of-meritthe cutoff
frequency can be defined as [3]
f,, =

1
2 K R, Cj,

(2)

where Cjo is the junction capacitance at zero bias. Therefore

conversion loss is minimized if R,Cjo is as low as possible.

In summary, the receivers performance will benefit from a

reduction of either V, or the R,Cjo product. To determine how this
can be accomplished we must consider the physics of operation of
the Schottky diode.

= thickness of the epitaxial layer

= electron mobility of the epitaxy and substrate

=
d
9
=
=
A
Nqi, Nsub =

respectively
diameter of the Schottky contact
electronic charge
area of the Schottky contact
doping density of the epi and substrate
respectively

The first term in (3) is the resistance of the epilayer and the second
accounts for the spreading resistance in the substrate due to
constriction of the current flow near the Schottky contact. The
capacitance is calculated using the depletion region approximation.

c.

JO

E,

=-+-

3 E, A

xdo

(4)

where E, is the permittivity of GaAs and

C . Device Physics
Shown in Figure 4 are the doping density. n, and the
corresponding energy band diagram (electron banier) vs. depth at
zero bias for a standard Schottky diode. The slope of the I-V curve
is directly dependent on the mechanism by which electrons are
transported from the semiconductor to the metal. Two conduction
mechanisms must be considered: electrons passing over the banier
(thermionic emission) and electrons tunneling through the barrier
(field-emission). Quantum mechanical tunneling increases V, and
thus causes more noise. A thicker banier shape will reduce the
probability of tunneling and result in a more ideal diode. This can
be achieved by reducing the epitaxial layer doping density[4].
Therefore, when low noise is the main objective a low doped
expitaxial layer should be used.

is the depletion region width. The second term in (4) accounts for
fringing capacitance around the anode periphery [6].
The R,C,, product given by these equations is depicted
graphically in Figure 5 as a function of diode diameter and doping
density. For this graph a general design rule, kPi= xdo has been
assumed[7]. In general, higher doping densities lead to lower
R,Cj, products. For example, diode batch UVa-117 (d= 0.8 pm,
Nepl= 3 . 5 ~ 1 0 ~
~m - ~has
) the lowest R,Cjo product (13 nfF)
obtained in this laboratory. This result is in good agreement with the
theory. These devices have a very high cutoff frequency
(= 12THz) and have been used very successfully for applications in
radio astronomy above 1 THz.

.- t
\c;,.oX1017

KCjo
metal

nGaAs

1.8x1Ol7

n++~aAs

3.2~10~

5x10
n = 1.0~10~

0
0

Figure 4. Standard Schottky Banier Diode

150

0.5

1.5
1 .o
diameter (p)

Figure 5 . R,Cjo Product vs. Diode Diameter

for Several Active Layer Dopings

This brief summary of device physics has revealed that a

lower epitaxial doping density is required to achieve low noise but a
higher doping density gives a lower R,Cj, product and lower
conversion loss. Therefore a tradeoff exists between noise and
conversion loss. The remainder of this paper will discuss two novel
diode structures which alleviate this tradeoff. The graded doped
bamer has a unique active layer doping profile which yields a lower
R,C,, product, for a specific V,, than is possible with the standard
device. The Schottky barrier membrane diode is an attempt to
reduce R, by removing the substrate, such that the current has a
shorter path from the anode to ohmic contact. This device is still in
the development stage while the graded doped barrier has been
experimentally confirmed.

111. Graded Doped Barrier

The graded doped barrier (GDB) is a logical compromise to

the tradeoff between V, and the R,Cjo product. This device has a
doping profile that starts at a lower initial value than the standard
device, and then increases linearly with depth, as shown in
Figure6. Since the barrier shape is thicker, quantum mechanical
tunneling is reduced. However, the series resistance R, of the GDB
device is lower than would be obtained for a standard (uniformdoped) device with the same V,. Calculation of the series
resistance is much more complicated because of electron diffusion,
and this has prevented accurate modeling of the R,C,, product.
However, experimental results have confirmed this theory.

Table 1
Diode

R,

Type

L2

2P9-300
211-150
212-150
312-150

12
12
10
11

C,,

fF

R,C,,

L2fF

4.5

78
54

6.5
6.0

65
66

6.5

V,(mV)
T=300K
28.5
28.5
28.5
28

V,(mV)
T=20K
8.5
8.5

8.5
7.5-8

IV. The Schottky Bamer Membrane Diode

In section I1 C we discussed the dc series resistance. In order
to more accurately evaluate high frequency mixer performance we
must consider the series resistance at the operating frequency. In a
standard GaAs Schottky diode, the skin effect causes the high
frequency currents to flow along the surface of the chip, as shown in
Figure 7. This adds significant resistance to the device. The
Schottky barrier membrane diode, Figure 8, is proposed to reduce
this resistance by placing the ohmic contact within a skin depth of
the Schottky contact. For a t ical Schottky diode the doping
density of the substrate is 3 ~ 1 0 ' C m - and
~ the skin depth is roughly
1.6 pm at a frequency of 1 THz

/ptiAu

Table 1 lists the parameters of our previous best low noise

diode (2p9-300), and three more recent batches with graded doing
profiles. Note that the new diodes, 211-150 and 212-150 have
equivalent V, but lower R,Cjo product compared to the 2P type
diode, and the 312-150 diode has a lower V,. This is the lowest V,
ever measured in our laboratory. These first experiments with
GDBs are very promising, and further work will include
experiments to find the optimum doping profile as a function of
operating frequency.

Si02

,epitaxy

f
<

I I I I I I

Ohmic Contact

Figure 7. High Frequency Current Flow

metal

Graded
nGaAs

The total series resistance at high frequencies is the sum of

four parts: 1)the undepleted epitaxial layer resistance, 2)the
spreading resistance, 3) the ohmic contact resistance, and 4)the skin
effect resistance. The epitaxial and spreading resistances are
defined in (3). The ohmic contact resistance is simply given by the
specific contact resistance (Rsp $2cm2) divided by the area of the
ohmic contact. R,, is measured experimentally and is typically
between lo-' and lU7 L2 cm2 for GaAs [8,9,10]. The value for
ohmic contact resistance should be negligible. The skin effect
resistance of a standard chip may be described as a function of
geometric and physical parameters of the chip [ l l ] .

n* GaAs

where
= skin depth = 1 /
= conductivity of the substrate = q p Nsub
b = length of current path from anode to ohmic contact
along the chip surface (= 0.025 cm)
f
= frequency of operation
P o = permeability

6,

Figure 6. The Graded Doped Barrier

151

(A)FuU Chip

(B)Cut-Away View

0 GHz

100 GHz

01

\
Ohmic Contact Metallization
(C)Closeup of Cut-Away View
Figure 8. Schottky Barrier Membrane Diode

Figure 9 is a graph of R s b vs. anode diameter for several

frequencies. Since these values are significant compared to the
epitaxial and spreading resistances, reduction of Rsh by decreasing
the distance between the anode and ohmic contact will improve
receiver performance.
A. Fabrication Technology

For this device a G%.3Alo,7Aslayer is grown on the sut.,,.

followed by a n+ GaAs buffer layer and the active n GaAs layer.
The GaAlAs is an etchstop layer and eventually will be removed
leaving only the thin n+ GaAs/n GaAs membrane. The fabrication
procedure is as follows:
.SiOz is deposited on the top surface and small holes are
photolithographically defined in the oxide. This pattem is then
coated with a protective wax for subsequent processing.
.The wafer is mechanically lapped to 5 mils and then coarsely
polished.
.SOz is deposited on the back surface and a pattem of 5 mil
circles is defined in the oxide.
oHzS04 : Hz02 : H2O (8:l:l) is used to isotropically etch the
exposed areas, removing several mils of GaAs substrate [ 121.
o q 0 H : H202 (5:95), is used to selectively remove the last mil
of GaAs exposing a flat area of GaAlAs.
.Finally, the GaAlAs i s removed with hydrofloric acid leaving
only the thin n+ GaAs/n GaAs layers.
.An ohmic contact is placed on the back surface, the wafer is diced

into chips, and the anodes are plated (see Figure 8).
The etch solutions were chosen for very specific reasons. The
HzS04 solution does not remove Si02 and has a relatively low
lateral etch rate. Lateral etching determines the spacing between the
etched areas and thus determines the size of the chip. The NH40H
solution selectively etches GaAs over Gal-,Al,As for x 2 0.3.
Although this solution typically has a high lateral etch rate, this can
be alleviated if the solution is mechanically squirted at the wafer
surface [13].

152

" " " " " " " " " '

0.5

1.o
1.5
diameter (p)

Figure 9. Rskh vs. Anode Diameter for Several Frequencies

As of the writing of this paper, we have successfully
fabricated 2.7 bm thick membranes with a SnNi/Ni/Au alloyed
ohmic contact. The membrane is thicker than necessary to allow for
some diffusion of metals during alloying. It is possible that the
metals will diffuse through the entire thickness of the membrane. If
this occurs the Schottky contact will be severly degraded.
Therefore the success of this device will depend on the development
of a suitable ohmic cont; * technology.
Continuing Research

The ohmic contact for the Schottky barrier membrane diode

must satisfy two criteria. First, the contact must have negligible
resistance compared to other components of the series resistance,
and second the contact must have a planar metal-semiconductor
interface which does not diffuse too far into the semiconductor
when alloyed. Fortunately, recent improvements of GaAs devices
and integrated circuits have spurred much work in the development
of ohmic contacts. Folowing is a brief summary of these
technologies.
GaAs ohmic contacts are most commonly formed by heating
the metals until melting occurs. These metals effectively dope the
semiconductor surface creating a n* GaAs/metal interface. The
conduction is dominated by tunneling due to the high doping
density at the interface [14]. Since the barrier is very thin the
current passes though with an insignificant voltage drop.
Unfortunately, most high temperature alloyed contacts, especially
those containing gold, produce a very irregular interface and may
contain spikes of diffused metals which penetrate several
microns [15]. They are therefore unsuitable for a membrane device
structure.
A silicon Schottky barrier membrane diode was successfully
fabricated with a non-alloyed Al ohmic contact. [16] Unfortunately
such contacts are much more difficult to form with GaAs. Bell Labs
has reported a non-alloyed TUGaAs ohmic contact formed by
simply sputtering the metal onto a highly doped molecular beam
epitaxial (MBE) layer ( 6 ~ 1 0 cmS)
'~
[17]. This doping density is
an order of magnitude higher than the maximum density specified
by industry and this technology remains highly experimental.
Others have utilized MBE to form n GaAs/nH GaInAs; placing A1
on the GaInAs forms a very low resistance ohmic contact [ 181.

Recently, researchers at IBM have developed a nGaAs/Pd/Ge

ohmic contact where the metals are annealed rather than
melted [19]. Another structure, GaAs/Pd/ln annealed at 500OC
forms a very planar zmtact with R,, = IO+ Rcm2 [ ~ o I .In
addition, one alloyed ohmic contact showed promise for this
application. It consists of GaAs/Ni/Ge/AufliB2/Au alloyed at
425C. The TiBz acts as a diffusion barrier to the top Au layer
which would otherwise penetrate too deeply into the
semiconductor [21]. We are currently investigating each of these
technologies to determine which will provide the best ohmic contact
for the membrane diode.

V. Conclusions
Design of Schottky bamer diodes for use in high frequency
applications is limited by the tradeoff between V,, the inverse slope
parameter and the R,C,, product. This, in tum limits the minimum
noise and conversion loss of the receivers which use these devices.
Two technologies have been presented which enhance the
performance of the device by reducing parasitic elements.

The graded doped bamer diode has reduced the minimum

possible R,Cj, for a given V,. For a receiver using a standard
device, the GDB will provide an improvement in noise without
sacrificing conversion loss. Research is continuing on this device in
order to find the optimum doping profile as a function of operating
frequency.
The proposed Schottky bamer membrane diode will greatly
reduce the skin effect resistance. Compared to a standard device,
this structure will yield a significant improvement in conversion
loss. GaAs membranes of 2.7 pm thickness have been fabricated
and the current research emphasis is on the formation of the ohmic
contact. Very recent work on ohmic contacts has provided many
possible solutions, and we are currently evaluating these contact
technologies for use in this device. Successful fabrication of a
Schottky barrier membrane diode will greatly improve the
sensitivity of submillimeter wavelength heterodyne receivers.

Acknowledgements

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[18] S. Kwoda, N. Harada, T. Katakami, and T. Mimura, "HEMT with
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This work is being supported by a grant from Texas Instruments and

the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology. The authors wish to
thank G. Green and Dr. R.J. Mattauch for their substantial
contribution to this work.
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153