HVPE GaN for high power electronic Schottky diodes

• Published in: Solid-state electronics Vol. 79; pp. 238 - 243
• Main Authors: Tompkins, Randy P., Walsh, Timothy A., Derenge, Michael A., Kirchner, Kevin W., Zhou, Shuai, Nguyen, Cuong B., Jones, Kenneth A., Mulholland, Gregory, Metzger, Robert, Leach, Jacob H., Suvarna, Puneet, Tungare, Mihir, Shahedipour-Sandvik, Fatemeh (Shadi)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Breakdown; Carbon; Diodes; Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering; Electronic equipment and fabrication. Passive components, printed wiring boards, connectics; Electronics; Exact sciences and technology; Gallium nitride; Gallium nitrides; High power electronics; Hydride vapor phase epitaxy; Inhomogeneities; Other multijunction devices. Power transistors. Thyristors; Power electronics, power supplies; Schottky diode; Schottky diodes; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Vapor phase epitaxy; Voltage; High power electronics; Hydride vapor phase epitaxy; Gallium nitride; Schottky diode; Binary compound; Point defect; Power electronics; VPE; Hydrides; Carbon; III-V compound; Dislocation; Heterogeneous material; High power; Disruptive voltage; Power diode; Schottky barrier diode; Figure of merit; Wafer
• ISSN: 0038-1101; 1879-2405
• DOI: 10.1016/j.sse.2012.07.003

► Vertical and front-side Schottky diodes were fabricated on HVPE GaN substrates. ► FOM of ≈250MW/cm2 was extracted after subtracting Rsub. ► Large variation in diode properties across the wafer for each sample tested. ► Variation is attributed to inhomogenities such as dislocations and point defects. ► Study shows promise for low-doped HVPE films on conductive substrates. Hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) grown GaN was evaluated for high power Schottky diodes (SDs) because it contains much less carbon and grows much more rapidly than other typical growth methods. The results are encouraging for applications <1000V in that breakdown voltages (VB) near this value can be readily obtained with figures of merit (FOM) of ≈250MW/cm2 that most likely can be improved upon. The properties of the SDs, however, vary dramatically from point to point, and cannot be attributed solely to processing issues. It is much more likely this variation across the wafer can be attributed to material inhomogeneities such as dislocations and point defects.