High Power Figure-of-Merit, 10.6-kV AlGaN/GaN Lateral Schottky Barrier Diode with Single Channel and Sub-100-µm...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Semiconductor Physics

Background:

• Gallium Nitride (GaN)-based lateral Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) are recognized for high-power applications due to superior electron mobility and critical breakdown fields.
• Current GaN SBDs exhibit breakdown voltages (BV) that do not fully leverage the material's potential, hindering their use in ultra-high voltage (UHV) applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of utilizing GaN-based materials for UHV applications.
• To demonstrate UHV AlGaN/GaN SBDs with high performance metrics.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of AlGaN/GaN SBDs on sapphire substrates.
• Device design featuring a single channel and 85-µm anode-to-cathode spacing.
• Characterization of breakdown voltage and specific on-resistance without additional electric field management techniques.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated UHV AlGaN/GaN SBDs with a breakdown voltage (BV) of 10.6 kV.
• Achieved a specific on-resistance (R_ON,SP) of 25.8 mΩ cm².
• Calculated a power figure-of-merit (P-FOM = BV²/R_ON,SP) of 4.35 GW cm^-2.

Conclusions:

• The demonstrated GaN-based SBDs exhibit excellent performance, validating the potential of GaN for UHV applications.
• The devices achieved high BV and P-FOM without complex electric field management, simplifying fabrication.
• These findings pave the way for advanced power electronics utilizing GaN for UHV systems.