Aluminum-zinc metallization

Abstract

Abstract There is disclosed an aluminum-zinc alloy ohmic contact for semiconductor materials and methods for providing these ohmic contacts. This aluminum-zinc alloy contact has special application in P-type III-V compound semiconductor materials, and particular advantage in lightly doped P-type III-V compound semiconductors, to decrease the contact resistance, increase uniformity of the contact, improve wire bonding ease and quality, decrease electromigration, and decrease the substrate temperature for contact formation. In addition this alunimum-zinc alloy provides that formation of brittle gold-aluminum intermetallic compounds on the surface of the contact is retarded or eliminated when gold wire is used for wire bonding. The aluminum-zinc contact is also used to advantage on elemental semiconductor materials and with II-VI compound semiconductor materials for the purpose of decreasing electromigration. Most importantly, in the P-type III-V compound semiconductors, a contact made from the aluminum-zinc alloy self-dopes the region directly under the contact, forming a highly doped region below the contact. The highly doped region is formed by zinc atoms from the alloy. Formation of the highly doped region in this manner is thus accomplished without the necessity of separate dopings and/or photolithographic steps.

Inventors

• 👤 Michael G Coleman

Bibliographic Details