Recent Advances in Gallium Phosphide Junction Devices for HighTemperature Electronic Applications

Recent advances in gallium phosphide technology are reviewed as tbey relate to bigh-temperature (T < 300°C) device applications. The electronic properties and materials aspects of GaP are summarized and compared to silicon and gallium arsenide. Minoritycarrier junction devices are discussed as one area where this technology could have. wide application. In tbis light, the hightemperature operation of two junction devices, a diode and a bipolar junction transistor (BJT), are displayed. The GaP diode is observed to provide excellent rectification properties with very low leakage over the full temperature range from 20°C to 400°C >3 x 10^-3 A/cm² at VR = 3 V, T = 400°C) and has demonstrated stable operation under bias for over 1000 h at 300°C. The bipolar transistor has demonstrated constant current pin (6 < ?> < 10) and very low collector-base leakage for temperatures up to 450°C (IC0 < 80 ?>A at VCB = 3 V, T = 450°C). The contacting technology to GaP is identified as one area where additional work is necessary.