Abstract: The invention relates to an integrated circuit structure that includes a substrate wafer having an active device layer disposed on a surface of the substrate wafer and having an electrically conductive element contained therein. The integrated circuit structure further comprises a barrier disposed between the substrate wafer and the active device layer, where the barrier blocks carriers injected into the substrate wafer and reduces low frequency oscillation effect.

Abstract: A thin film resistor with an insulating layer disposed between a substrate material and a resistor material is disclosed. Also, disclosed is a technique for fabricating this thin film resistor. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the thin film resistor employs an insulating layer of silicon nitride with a thickness of 2000 .ANG.. The insulating layer prevents the resistor layer from diffusing into the substrate material which, in turn, significantly reduces variations in the resistor value during accelerated life testing. Compared to thin film resistors with a resistor layer evaporated directly upon a substrate material, reliability is increased from a few hundred hours up to thousands of hours. Also, the maximum current handling capability is increased by greater than one order of magnitude, which results in a thin film resistor which requires less surface area of a wafer.