PASSIVATION OF GAAS POWER FIELD-EFFECT TRANSISTOR USING ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON-RESONANCE CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION SILICON-NITRIDE TECHNIQUE

Abstract

Monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) chips are typically passivated with dielectric films to improve their long-term environmental reliability. Improper passivation generally degrades chip performance and reduces wafer yield. This paper reports the change of metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) parameters after silicon nitride passivation using electron cyclotron resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD). In general, the changes in the electrical parameters after passivation are small. Gate-drain breakdown voltage of the MESFET's after ECR-CVD passivation is significantly improved compared to that after PECVD. The microwave characteristics of the high-powered MESFET's passivated using ECR-CVD silicon nitride are also reported in this paper.