Relationship between crystal defects and leakage current in β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diodes

Abstract

We fabricated Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) on the entire surface of a β-Ga2O3 single crystal, and investigated the leakage current in both forward and reverse directions. Subsequently, we investigated the distribution of dislocation and void etch pits on the entire surface. The dislocation etch pit density on the surface ranged from <1 × 103 to 6 × 104, and its average was 1.1 × 104 cm−2. The void etch pit density on the surface ranged from <5 × 102 to 7 × 103, and its average was 6 × 103 cm−2. From a comparison between the SBD leakage current and the dislocation and void etch pit densities, we found that dislocations are closely related to the SBD reverse leakage current, and that not all voids produce the leakage current.