Semi-insulating silicon for microwave devices

The concept of fully encapsulated, semi-insulating silicon (SI-Si), Czochralski-silicon-on-insulator (CZ-SOI) substrates for silicon microwave devices is presented. Experimental results show that, using gold as a compensating impurity, a Si resistivity of order 400 kΩcm can be achieved at room temperature using lightly phosphorus doped substrates. This compares favourably with the maximum of ∼180kΩcm previously achieved using lightly boron doped wafers and is due to a small asymmetry of the position of the two gold energy levels introduced into the band gap. Measurements of the temperature dependence of the resistivity of the semi-insulating material show that a resistivity ∼5kΩcm can be achieved at 100°C. Thus the substrates are suitable for microwave devices working at normal operating temperatures and should allow Si to be used for much higher frequency microwave applications than currently possible. © (2010) Trans Tech Publications