Electric field modulation technique for high-voltage AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

A novel structure of AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode(SBD) featuring electric field optimization techniques of anode-connected-field-plate(AFP) and magnesium-doped p-type buried layer under the two-dimensional electron gas(2DEG) channel is proposed.In comparison with conventional AlGaN/GaN SBDs,the magnesium-doped p-type buried layer in the proposed structure can provide holes that can help to deplete the surface 2DEG.As a result,surface field strength around the electrode edges is significantly suppressed and the electric field along the channel is distributed more evenly.Through 2D numerical analysis,the AFP parameters(field plate length,L AFP,and field plate height,T AFP) and p-type buried layer parameters(p-type layer concentration,N P,and p-type layer thickness,T P) are optimized to achieve a three-equal-peak surface channel field distribution under exact charge balance conditions.A novel structure with a total drift region length of 10.5 μm and a magnesium-doped p-type concentration of 1 × 1017cm-3achieves a high breakdown voltage(V B) of 1.8 kV,showing 5 times improvement compared with the conventional SBD with the same device dimension.     

Breakdown characteristics of AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on a silicon substrate

In this work, the breakdown characteristics of AlGaN/GaN planar Schottky barrier diodes （SBDs） fabricated on the silicon substrate are investigated. The breakdown voltage （BV） of the SBDs first increases as a function of the anodeto-cathode distance and then tends to saturate at larger inter-electrode spacing. The saturation behavior of the BV is likely caused by the vertical breakdown through the intrinsic GaN buffer layer on silicon, which is supported by the post-breakdown primary leakage path analysis with the emission microscopy. Surface passivation and field plate termination are found effective to suppress the leakage current and enhance the BV of the SBDs. A high BV of 601 V is obtained with a low on-resistance of 3.15 mΩ·cm^2.     

复合漏电模型建立及阶梯场板GaN肖特基势垒二极管设计

准垂直GaN肖特基势垒二极管(SBD)因其低成本和高电流传输能力而备受关注.但其主要问题在于无法很好地估计器件的反向特性,从而影响二极管的设计.本文考虑了GaN材料的缺陷以及多种漏电机制,建立了复合漏电模型,对准垂直Ga N SBD的特性进行了模拟,仿真结果与实验结果吻合.基于此所提模型设计出具有高击穿电压的阶梯型场板结构准垂直GaN SBD.根据漏电流、温度和电场在反向电压下的相关性,分析了漏电机制和器件耐压特性,设计的阶梯型场板结构准垂直GaN SBD的Baliga优值BFOM达到73.81 MW/cm~2.     

Comparison of electrical characteristic between AIN/GaN and AIGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

Ni/Au Schottky contacts on A1N/GaN and A1GaN/GaN heterostructures are fabricated. Based on the measured current-voltage and capacitance-voltage curves, the electrical characteristics of AlN/GaN Schottky diode, such as Schottky barrier height, turn-on voltage, reverse breakdown voltage, ideal factor, and the current-transport mechanism, are analyzed and then compared with those of an A1GaN/GaN diode by self-consistently solving Schrodinger＇s and Poisson＇s equations. It is found that the dislocation-governed tunneling is dominant for both AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes. However, more dislocation defects and a thinner barrier layer for AlN/GaN heterostrncture results in a larger tunneling probability, and causes a larger leakage current and lower reverse breakdown voltage, even though the Schottky barrier height of AlN/GaN Schottky diode is calculated to be higher that of an A1GaN/GaN diode.     

Different influences of Schottky metal on the strain and relative permittivity of barrier layer between AIN/GaN and AIGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

Ni/Au Schottky contacts on AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are fabricated. Based on the measured current-voltage and capacitance-voltage curves, the polarization sheet charge density and relative permittivity are analyzed and calculated by self-consistently solving Schrodinger＇s and Poisson＇s equations. It is found that the values of relative permittivity and polarization sheet charge density of AlN/GaN diode are both much smaller than the ones of AlGaN/GaN diode, and also much lower than the theoretical values. Moreover, by fitting the measured forward 1-V curves, the extracted dislocations existing in the barrier layer of the AlN/GaN diode are found to be much more than those of the AlGaN/GaN diode. As a result, the conclusion can be made that compared with AlGaN/GaN diode the Schottky metal has an enhanced influence on the strain of the extremely thinner AlN barrier layer, which is attributed to the more dislocations.     

Micro-structural and temperature dependent electrical characterization of Ni/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

Micro-structural investigation of Ni/GaN Schottky barrier diodes has been carried out using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction spectrum in order to emphasize the role of Ni/GaN interface in controlling the Schottky diode behavior. Variable temperature Hall effect measurement of GaN samples along with the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of Ni/n-GaN Schottky barrier diodes have been measured in 100–380 K temperature range. Results are analyzed in terms of thermionic emission theory by incorporating the concept of barrier inhomogeneity at the metal/semiconductor interface. The observed anomaly of temperature dependence of Schottky barrier height and ideality factor are explained by invoking two sets of Gaussian distribution of SBH in the temperature ranges of 100–180 K and 220–380 K, respectively. The value of A** (effective Richardson constant) as determined from the modified Richardson plot is 29.2 A/(cm² K²), which shows an excellent agreement with the theoretical value (26.4 A/(cm² K²)) in the temperature range of 220–380 K.     

Design and simulation of AlN-based vertical Schottky barrier diodes

The key parameters of vertical AlN Schottky barrier diodes(SBDs) with variable drift layer thickness(DLT) and drift layer concentration(DLC) are investigated. The specific on-resistance(R_(on,sp)) decreased to 0.5 m? · cm~2 and the breakdown voltage(V_(BR)) decreased from 3.4 kV to 1.1 kV by changing the DLC from 10~(15) cm~(-3) to 3×10~(16) cm~(-3). The VBRincreases from 1.5 kV to 3.4 kV and the Ron,sp also increases to 12.64 m? · cm~2 by increasing DLT from 4-μm to 11-μm. The VBRenhancement results from the increase of depletion region extension. The Baliga's figure of merit(BFOM) of3.8 GW/cm~2 was obtained in the structure of 11-μm DLT and 10~(16) cm~(-3) DLC without FP. When DLT or DLC is variable,the consideration of the value of BFOM is essential. In this paper, we also present the vertical AlN SBD with a field plate(FP), which decreases the crowding of electric field in electrode edge. All the key parameters were optimized by simulating based on Silvaco-ATLAS.     

The modulation of Schottky barrier height of NiSi/n-Si Schottky diodes by silicide as diffusion source technique

This paper reports that the Schottky barrier height modulation of NiSi/n-Si is experimentally investigated by adopting a novel silicide-as-diffusion-source technique, which avoids the damage to the NiSi/Si interface induced from the conventional dopant segregation method. In addition, the impact of post-BF₂ implantation after silicidation on the surface morphology of Ni silicides is also illustrated. The thermal stability of Ni silicides can be improved by silicide-as-diffusion-source technique. Besides, the electron Schottky barrier height is successfully modulated by 0.11~eV at a boron dose of 10¹⁵~cm^-2 in comparison with the non-implanted samples. The change of barrier height is not attributed to the phase change of silicide films but due to the boron pile-up at the interface of NiSi and Si substrate which causes the upward bending of conducting band. The results demonstrate the feasibility of novel silicide-as-diffusion-source technique for the fabrication of Schottky source/drain Si MOS devices.     

4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes with semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon field plate termination

Based on the theoretical analysis of the 4H-SiC Schottky-barrier diodes(SBDs) with field plate termination, 4H-SiC SBD with semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon(SIPOS) FP termination has been fabricated. The relative dielectric constant of the SIPOS dielectric first used in 4H-SiC devices is 10.4, which is much higher than that of the SiO2dielectric,leading to benefitting the performance of devices. The breakdown voltage of the fabricated SBD could reach 1200 V at leakage current 20 μA, about 70% of the theoretical breakdown voltage. Meanwhile, both of the simulation and experimental results show that the length of the SIPOS FP termination is an important factor for structure design.     

Determination of the series resistance under the Schottky contacts of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

Rectangular AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) were fabricated,and the gate and the source of the HFETs consisted of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs).Based on the measured forward current-voltage and the capacitance-voltage characteristics of the AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs,the series resistance under the Schottky contacts (RS) was calculated using the method of power consumption,which has been proved to be valid.Finally,the method of power consumption for calculating R S was successfully used to study the two-dimensional electron gas electron mobility for a series of circular AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs.It is shown that the series resistance under the Schottky contacts cannot be neglected and is important for analysing and characterizing the AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs and the AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs.     

Determination of the series resistance under the Schottky contacts of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

Rectangular AlGaN/AlN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors (HFETs) were fabricated, and the gate and the source of the HFETs consisted of AlGaN/AlN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs). Based on the measured forward current-voltage and the capacitance-voltage characteristics of the AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs, the series resistance under the Schottky contacts (R_S) was calculated using the method of power consumption, which has been proved to be valid. Finally, the method of power consumption for calculating R_S was successfully used to study the two-dimensional electron gas electron mobility for a series of circular AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs. It is shown that the series resistance under the Schottky contacts cannot be neglected and is important for analysing and characterizing the AlGaN/AlN/GaN SBDs and the AlGaN/AlN/GaN HFETs.     

Non-recessed-gate quasi-E-mode double heterojunction AIGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor with high breakdown voltage

A non-recessed-gate quasi-E-mode double heterojunction A1GaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor （quasi-E- DHEMT） with a thin barrier, high breakdown voltage and good performance of drain induced barrier lowering （DIBL） was presented. Due to the metal organic chemical vapor deposition （MOCVD） grown 9-nm undoped A1GaN barrier, the effect that the gate metal depleted the two-dimensiomal electron gas （2DEG） was greatly impressed. Therefore, the density of carriers in the channel was nearly zero. Hence, the threshold voltage was above 0 V. Quasi-E-DHEMT with 4.1%tm source-to-drain distance, 2.6-μm gate-to-drain distance, and 0.5-μm gate length showed a drain current of 260 mA/mm. The threshold voltage of this device was 0.165 V when the drain voltage was 10 V and the DIBL was 5.26 mV/V. The quasi-E-DHEMT drain leakage current at a drain voltage of 146 V and a gate voltage of -6 V was below 1 mA/mm. This indicated that the hard breakdown voltage was more than 146 V.     

Reverse blocking characteristics and mechanisms in Schottky-drain AlGaN/GaN HEMT with a drain field plate and floating field plates

In this paper, a novel Al Ga N/Ga N HEMT with a Schottky drain and a compound field plate(SD-CFP HEMT) is presented for the purpose of better reverse blocking capability. The compound field plate(CFP) consists of a drain field plate(DFP) and several floating field plates(FFPs). The physical mechanisms of the CFP to improve the reverse breakdown voltage and to modulate the distributions of channel electric field and potential are investigated by two-dimensional numerical simulations with Silvaco-ATLAS. Compared with the HEMT with a Schottky drain(SD HEMT) and the HEMT with a Schottky drain and a DFP(SD-FP HEMT), the superiorities of SD-CFP HEMT lie in the continuous improvement of the reverse breakdown voltage by increasing the number of FFPs and in the same fabrication procedure as the SD-FP HEMT.Two useful optimization laws for the SD-CFP HEMTs are found and extracted from simulation results. The relationship between the number of the FFPs and the reverse breakdown voltage as well as the FP efficiency in SD-CFP HEMTs are discussed. The results in this paper demonstrate a great potential of CFP for enhancing the reverse blocking ability in Al Ga N/Ga N HEMT and may be of great value and significance in the design and actual manufacture of SD-CFP HEMTs.     

Breakdown characteristics of AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on a silicon substrate

In this work, the breakdown characteristics of AlGaN/GaN planar Schottky barrier diodes(SBDs) fabricated on the silicon substrate are investigated. The breakdown voltage(BV) of the SBDs first increases as a function of the anodeto-cathode distance and then tends to saturate at larger inter-electrode spacing. The saturation behavior of the BV is likely caused by the vertical breakdown through the intrinsic GaN buffer layer on silicon, which is supported by the postbreakdown primary leakage path analysis with the emission microscopy. Surface passivation and field plate termination are found effective to suppress the leakage current and enhance the BV of the SBDs. A high BV of 601 V is obtained with a low on-resistance of 3.15 mΩ·cm2.     

Novel high-voltage power lateral MOSFET with adaptive buried electrodes

A new high-voltage and low-specific on-resistance (R on,sp ) adaptive buried electrode (ABE) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) power lateral MOSFET and its analytical model of the electric fields are proposed. The MOSFET features are that the electrodes are in the buried oxide (BOX) layer, the negative drain voltage V d is divided into many partial voltages and the output to the electrodes is in the buried oxide layer and the potentials on the electrodes change linearly from the drain to the source. Because the interface silicon layer potentials are lower than the neighboring electrode potentials, the electronic potential wells are formed above the electrode regions, and the hole potential wells are formed in the spacing of two neighbouring electrode regions. The interface hole concentration is much higher than the electron concentration through designing the buried layer electrode potentials. Based on the interface charge enhanced dielectric layer field theory, the electric field strength in the buried layer is enhanced. The vertical electric field E I and the breakdown voltage (BV) of ABE SOI are 545 V/μm and -587 V in the 50 μm long drift region and the 1 μm thick dielectric layer, and a low R on,sp is obtained. Furthermore, the structure also alleviates the self-heating effect (SHE). The analytical model matches the simulation results.     

Influence of a drain field plate on the forward blocking characteristics of an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor

In this paper,the influence of a drain field plate(FP)on the forward blocking characteristics of an AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistor(HEMT)is investigated.The HEMT with only a gate FP is optimized,and breakdown voltage VBRis saturated at 1085 V for gate–drain spacing LGD≥8μm.On the basis of the HEMT with a gate FP,a drain FP is added with LGD=10μm.For the length of the drain FP LDF≤2μm,VBRis almost kept at 1085 V,showing no degradation.When LDFexceeds 2μm,VBRdecreases obviously as LDFincreases.Moreover,the larger the LDF,the larger the decrease of VBR.It is concluded that the distance between the gate edge and the drain FP edge should be larger than a certain value to prevent the drain FP from affecting the forward blocking voltage and the value should be equal to the LGDat which VBR begins to saturate in the first structure.The electric field and potential distribution are simulated and analyzed to account for the decrease of VBR.     

Different influences of Schottky metal on the strain and relative permittivity of barrier layer between AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

Ni/Au Schottky contacts on AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are fabricated.Based on the measured current–voltage and capacitance-voltage curves,the polarization sheet charge density and relative permittivity are analyzed and calculated by self-consistently solving Schrdinger’s and Poisson’s equations.It is found that the values of relative permittivity and polarization sheet charge density of AlN/GaN diode are both much smaller than the ones of AlGaN/GaN diode,and also much lower than the theoretical values.Moreover,by fitting the measured forward I–V curves,the extracted dislocations existing in the barrier layer of the AlN/GaN diode are found to be much more than those of the AlGaN/GaN diode.As a result,the conclusion can be made that compared with AlGaN/GaN diode the Schottky metal has an enhanced influence on the strain of the extremely thinner AlN barrier layer,which is attributed to the more dislocations.     

Barrier lowering and leakage current reduction in Ni-AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes with an oxygen-treated GaN cap layer

We report on the effect of oxygen annealing for GaN surface on the Schottky barrier configuration and leakage current in Ni-AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes. After oxygen annealing, their turn-on voltage and reverse-bias leakage current characteristics are significantly improved due to a reduction in the Schottky barrier height (SBH) and suppression in the surface states respectively. Interface state density extracted from the Terman method was reduced by 2 orders of magnitude. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that the oxygen annealing induces Ga₂O₃ on the GaN surface. The formation of Ga₂O₃ reduces the interface state density as well as lowers the SBH through the modification of hybridized metal induced gap states.     

氢化物气相外延生长高质量GaN膜生长参数优化研究

系统研究了低温成核层生长时间、高温生长时的V/Ⅲ 比以及生长温度对氢化物气相外延生长GaN膜晶体质量的影响. 研究发现合适的低温成核层为后续高温生长提供成核中心, 并能有效降低外延膜与衬底间的界面自由能, 促进成核岛的横向生长; 优化的V/Ⅲ比和最佳生长温度有利于降低晶体缺陷密度, 促进横向生长, 增强外延膜的二维生长. 利用扫描电子显微镜、原子力显微镜、高分辨X射线衍射、 低温光致发光谱和室温拉曼光谱对优化条件下生长的GaN外延膜进行了结构和光电特性表征. 测试结果表明, 膜表面平整光滑, 呈现二维生长模式表面形貌; (002)和(102)面摇摆曲线半高宽分别为317和343 arcsec; 低温光致发光谱中近带边发射峰为3.478 eV附近的中性施主束缚激子发射峰, 存在11 meV的蓝移, 半高宽为10 meV, 并且黄带发光强度很弱;常温拉曼光谱中E₂ (high) 峰发生1.1 cm^-1蓝移.结果表明, 优化条件下生长的GaN外延膜具有良好的晶体质量和光电特性, 但GaN 膜中存在压应力. 关键词： 氮化镓 氢化物气相外延 低温成核层