A 1.6 kV Ga₂O₃ Schottky Barrier Diode with a Low Reverse Current of 1.2 × 10⁻⁵ A/cm² Enabled by Field Plates and N Ion-Implantation Edge Termination

Abstract

In this work, by employing field plate (FP) and N ion-implantation edge termination (NIET) structure, the electrical performance of the β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diode (SBD) was greatly improved. Ten samples of vertical SBDs were fabricated to investigate the influence of the relative positions of field plates (FPs) and ion implantation on the device performance. The device with the FP of 15 μm and the ion implantation at the edge of the Schottky electrode exhibited a breakdown voltage (Vbr) of 1616 V, a specific on-resistance (Ron,sp) of 5.11 mΩ·cm2, a power figure of merit (PFOM) of 0.511 GW/cm2, and a reverse current density of 1.2 × 10−5 A/cm2 @ −1000 V. Compared to the control device, although the Ron,sp increased by 1 mΩ·cm2, the Vbr of the device increased by 183% and the PFOM increased by 546.8%. Moreover, the reverse leakage current of the device with the FP and NIET structure decreased by three orders of magnitude. The TCAD simulation revealed that the peak electric field at the interface decreased from 7 MV/cm @ −500 V to 4.18 MV/cm @ −1000 V. These results demonstrate the great potential for the β-Ga2O3 SBD with a FP and NIET structure in power electronic applications.

Keywords

• <i>β</i>-Ga₂O₃
• Schottky barrier diode
• field plate
• N ion implantation
• breakdown voltage