Simulation-Based Analysis of the Effect of Alpha Irradiation on GaN Particle Detectors

Radiation-hardened semiconductor GaN has drawn considerable attention owing to its excellent properties such as large displacement energy. Many studies have focused on evaluating the degradation of GaN-based power device performance by proton beam or particle irradiation, while quantitative analysis of the energy transfer process of particles inside the material and the mechanisms involved in inducing degradation of electrical properties are rare. Here, on the basis of the fabricated alpha-particle detector, a device model validated by basic electrical experiments is established to simulate the influence of alpha-particle irradiation on the leakage current of the device. We observe that the current does not change significantly with increasing radiation fluence at low bias, while it shows a descending trend with increasing radiation fluence at higher bias. However, increasing the energy of the radiation particles at the same radiation fluence directly leads to a monotonically elevated leakage current. Such a series of phenomena is associated with radiation-induced changes in the density of trapped states within the active layers of the device.