FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THIN FILM RESISTORS FOR GaAs-BASED POWER AMPLIFIERS

This paper presents a comprehensive study of sputtered TaN thin film resistor with a low resistivity of only 150 µΩ-cm, its comparison with thin film resistors fabricated by evaporated NiCr and sputtered NiV. Sheet resistance (Rs), temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR), and voltage coefficient of resistance (VCR) were measured using a standard Van Der Pauw (VDP) structure. Thickness was measured by a profilometer as well as cross-section SEM. Biased-drift tests and thermal tests were performed to check the reliability of the thin film resistors.