High Reliability of 0.1 µm InGaAs/InAlAs/InP High Electron Mobility Transistors Microwave Monolithic Integrated Circuit on 3-inch InP Substrates

The high-reliability performance of K-band microwave monolithic integrated circuit (MMIC) amplifiers fabricated with 0.1 µm gate length InGaAs/InAlAs/InP high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) on 3-inch wafers using a high volume production process technology is reported. Operating at an accelerated life test condition of Vds=1.5 V and Ids=150 mA/mm, two-stage balanced amplifiers were lifetested at two-temperatures (T1=230°C, and T2=250°C) in nitrogen ambient. The activation energy (Ea) is as high as 1.5 eV, achieving a projected median-time-to-failure (MTTF) >1×106 h at a 125°C of junction temperature. MTTF was determined by 2-temperature constant current stress using |ΔS21|>1.0 dB as the failure criteria. This is the first report of high reliability 0.1 µm InGaAs/InAlAs/InP HEMT MMICs based on small-signal microwave characteristics. This result demonstrates a reliable InGaAs/InAlAs/InP HEMT production technology.