Chapter 3 - Progress in semiconductor β-Ga2O3

Abstract

This chapter summarizes recent advances in the growth, processing, and device performance of the most widely studied polymorph of gallium oxide, namely, β-Ga2O3, which has potential applications for power electronics, solar-blind UV photodetectors, solar cells, and sensors. Because melt growth techniques can be used to grow bulk crystals of β-GaO3, the cost of producing larger area uniform substrates is potentially lower compared to the vapor growth techniques used to manufacture bulk crystals of GaN and SiC. The performance of high-voltage rectifiers and enhancement-mode metal-oxide field effect transistors benefits from the larger critical electric field of β-Ga2O3 relative to either SiC or GaN. Future directions for research into β-Ga2O3 are discussed.