Humidity resistance of GaAs ICs

Abstract

A series of iinvestigations into reliability effects of moisture on GaAs structures have lead to the conclusion that GaAs devices have resistance to degradation effects of humidity. This not only provides evidence that GaAs devices are ready for low-cost non-hermetic packages, but that GaAs ICs may have superior reliability performance compared to silicon devices under accelerated humidity conditions.

Experimental investigation on the performance degradations of the GaN class-F power amplifier under humidity conditions

“…In the recent past, researchers have shown deep interest in experimental evaluation of the performance of several types of electronic equipment; e.g. capacitors [16], Tx lines [17], random-access-memory (RAM) [18], laser [19], photodiodes [20] and PA [21][22][23][24][25] under different environmental conditions. Most of those works are focused on the humidity and temperature effects on the lifetime of devices.…”

Compound semiconductor activation energy in humidity

“…Study of humidity acceleration factors has been extensive and complex [1]. Testing in humidity is not only thermal lifetesting overlaid with another environmental dimension, it is much more.…”

Degradation mechanisms of GaAs PHEMTs in high humidity conditions

“…In order to survive inside non-hermetic packages, GaAs devices must exhibit resistance to humidity. The reliability of GaAs devices under high humidity conditions has been investigated [1][2][3], however the device degradation mechanisms under high humidity conditions are not well understood. Thicker passivation films and other polymer coatings (e.g.…”