High-Voltage Schottky Barrier Diode on Silicon Substrate

Abstract

New GaN Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) on Si substrates are proposed to achieve a high-breakdown voltage. We have fabricated GaN SBDs using doped GaN/unintentionally doped (UID) GaN because doped GaN with the thickness of 200 nm is suitable for high-current operation. The 1-µm-deep mesa and low-temperature annealing of ohmic contacts suppress the leakage current of GaN SBDs. Annealing of Schottky contacts also improves the interface between a Schottky contact and GaN. Annealing of ohmic contacts at 670 °C yields the low leakage current of 2.8 nA through the surface and the buffer. When the anode–cathode distance is 5 µm, the fabricated GaN SBD successfully achieves a low forward voltage drop of 1.3 V at 100 A/cm2, low on-resistance of 4.00 mΩ cm2, and the low leakage current of 0.6 A/cm2 at -100 V. The measured breakdown voltage of GaN SBDs is approximately 400 V.