On the Development of High Density Nitrides for MMICs

We have developed a NH3 free high-density nitride process (high-density inductively-coupled plasma, HD-IP-CVD) for GaAs HEMT MMIC manufacturing, including its use in devices passivation and as dielectrics for MIMCAPs. We have explored the process optimization in order to minimize the adverse effects of high-density nitrides on the performance of devices and MMICs. This study suggests that the MMIC performance be optimized at ICP source RF power of approximately 500 watts. On the other hand, the ramp-up breakdown voltage of MIMCAPs of high-density nitrides shows an improvement of approximately 50-70% over that of standard PECVD. The result indicates that a better nitride quality of MIMCAPs can be achieved with HD-ICP-CVD process.