Synthesis of n-type ZrO2 doped ε-Ga2O3 thin films by PLD and fabrication of Schottky diode

Abstract

Tin-assisted pure phase n-type ZrO2-doped ε-Ga2O3 films were synthesized by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and deposited on (0001) epi-GaN/sapphire substrates. The characterization of n-type ZrO2-doped ε-Ga2O3 thin films and the electrical properties of SBD based on that film were investigated in details. From XRD, the pure Zr-doped ε-Ga2O3 without diffraction peaks of zirconia suggested the formation of ε-(ZrxGa1−x)2O3 solid solution. The surface morphology and chemical content of the ε-Ga2O3 thin film were studied by AFM and XPS. The electrical resistivity and related free carrier concentration at room temperature were measured to be 108 Ω·cm and 5.5 × 1015 cm−3, respectively, and mobility up to 10.3 cm2/V·s. The Schottky barrier diode possessed a rectification ratio up to 106~107, breakdown voltage of 392 V, and the interface states density from 2.4 × 1013 cm-2 eV-1 to 6.4 × 1014 cm-2 eV-1 with the trap energy level from 0.89 eV to 0.94 eV below the bottom of the conduction band.