Abstract: The Ni/Au contact was treated with oxalic acid after nnealing in O2 ambient, and its I–V characteristic showed the property of contact has been obviously improved. An Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) depth profile of the contact as-annealed showed that the top layer was highly resistive NiO, while an X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) of oxalic acid treated samples indicated that the NiO has been removed effectively. A scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology of the contacts, and it was found that the lacunaris surface right after annealing became quite smooth with lots of small Au exposed areas after oxalic acid treatment. When the test probe or the subsequently deposited Ti/Au was directly in contact with these small Auareas, theyworkedas lowresistivecurrent pathsand thus decrease the specific contact resistance.

Key words: oxalic acid treatment