Schottky contacts to N-polar GaN with SiN interlayer for elevated temperature operation
Abstract
In this Letter, we unveil the high-temperature limits of N-polar GaN Schottky contacts enhanced by a low-pressure chemical vapor deposited (LPCVD) SiN interlayer. Compared to conventional Schottky diodes, the insertion of a 5 nm SiN lossy dielectric interlayer in-between Ni and N-polar GaN increases the turn-on voltage (VON) from 0.4 to 0.9 V and the barrier height (ϕB) from 0.4 to 0.8 eV. This modification also reduces the leakage current at zero bias significantly: at room temperature, the leakage current in the conventional Schottky diode is >103 larger than that observed in the device with the SiN interlayer, while at 200 °C, this ratio increases to 105. Thus, the rectification ratio (ION/IOFF) at ±1.5 V reduces to less than one at 250 °C for the conventional Schottky diode, whereas for SiN-coated diodes, rectification continues until 500 °C. The I–V characteristics of the diode with an SiN interlayer can be recovered after exposure to 400 °C or lower. Contact degradation occurs at 500 °C, although devices are not destroyed yet. Here, we report N-polar GaN Schottky contact operation up to 500 °C using an LPCVD SiN interlayer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Apr 25, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1063/5.0083588
Entities
People
- Dennis Szymanski
- Dolar Khachariya
- Erhard Kohn
- Pramod Reddy
- Ramón Collazo
- Spyridon Pavlidis
- Zlatko Sitar
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- National Science Foundation
- North Carolina State University
- United States Department of Energy