The stability of Ni ohmic contacts to p-type SiC under high current density was investigated. A test structure adapted from the four circular contacts method allowed for vertical stressing and the ability to extract a pre- and post-stressed specific contact resistance. The accuracy of the measured specific contact resistance was verified experimentally through comparisons with more widely used methods and the use of computer modeling. The growth of voids initially produced during the high-temperature ohmic contact anneal was found to be the degradation mechanism, effectively decreasing the area of the contact.
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This work was supported by the Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014-05-D-0275 DO-0002 and through the use of facilities at the Pennsylvania State University Materials Research Institute Nano Fabrication Network under the National Science Foundation Cooperative Agreement No. 0335765, National Nanotechnology Infra- structure Network, with Cornell University.
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Downey, B., Flemish, J., Liu, B. et al. Current-Induced Degradation of Nickel Ohmic Contacts to SiC. J. Electron. Mater. 38, 563–568 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-008-0612-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-008-0612-3