Annealing-Dependent Breakdown Voltage and Capacitance of Gallium Oxide-Based Gallium Nitride MOSOM Varactors

• Published in: Materials Vol. 13; no. 21; p. 4956
• Main Authors: Hsieh, Yu-Li, Chang, Liann-Be, Jeng, Ming-Jer, Li, Chung-Yi, Shih, Chien-Fu, Wang, Hung-Tsung, Ding, Zi-Xin, Chang, Chia-Ning, Lo, Hao-Zong, Chiang, Yuan-Po
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 04.11.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Annealing; Annealing furnaces; Breakdown; Capacitance; Circuit reliability; Electrodes; Electrostatic discharges; furnace annealing; Ga2O3; Gallium nitrides; Gallium oxides; heterojunction; Heterojunctions; Laboratories; Metal oxide semiconductors; Modules; MOSOM; MSM; Thin films; Threshold voltage; varactor; Varactor diodes; United States > US
• ISSN: 1996-1944; 1996-1944
• DOI: 10.3390/ma13214956

Our laboratory has previously revealed the use of metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) varactors against malicious pulses, as well as completed the related verification and measurements of such a circuit. To improve the reliability of this protection module further, in this study, we deposited a gallium oxide (Ga2O3) thin film in between the Schottky contact electrode to manufacture a metal-oxide-semiconductor-oxide-metal (MOSOM) varactor. However, the thin-film quality and heterojunction interfaces will affect these fabricated varactors in various ways, such as the asymmetry threshold voltage to the variable capacitance characteristics. This study aims to address the issues associated with the inserted oxide thin film, as well as to determine how improvements could be obtained by using an oxygen furnace annealing process. As a result, the breakdown voltage of the MOSOM varactor was further promoted and a more robust anti-surge module was thus realized.