A tantalum nitride (TaN) thin-film resistor (TFR) lift-off process was developed by reactively sputtering TaN from a pure Ta metal target. The films were deposited at a rate of approximately 3 angstrom/s using a N-2/Ar ratio of 0.22 at 5 mTorr and 100 W of dc power. TFRs were fabricated on silicon and semi-insulating InP with reproducible resistances of 80-85 Omega/square at thicknesses of 550-700 angstrom using a lift-off technique. Resistors fabricated on semi-insulating InP utilizing microstrip technology were characterized by S-parameter measurements up to 67 GHz. A model, based on a lossy transmission line, described the TFRs with good accuracy. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.