DEGRADATION MECHANISM OF THE ALINAS GAINAS HIGH-ELECTRON-MOBILITY TRANSISTOR DUE TO FLUORINE INCORPORATION/

The electrical degradation of AlInAs/GaInAs high electron mobility tra nsistor (HEMT) due to the fluorine contamination is quantitatively exp lained through the comprehensive annealing experiments and bias-temper ature tests. The thermal degradation rate is found to be mainly determ ined by the following electrochemical reaction of fluorine with donor species after the quite fast diffusion of fluorine into the AlInAs lay er. It is also confirmed that the thermal degradation is stringently a ffected by the electric field resulting in the one-sided degradation n ear the anode. These findings are valuable knowledges in improving the reliability of AlInAs/GaInAs HEMT under the de accelerated life test at high temperature. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.