1.7-kV and 0.55-mΩ . cm2 GaN p-n Diodes on Bulk GaN Substrates With Avalanche Capability

We report vertical GaN-on-GaN p-n diodes with a breakdown voltage (BV) of 1.7 kV and a low differential specific ON-resistance R-ON of 0.55 m Omega . cm(2) with current spreading considered (or 0.4 m Omega . cm(2) using the diode bottom mesa size), resulting in a figure-of-merit (V-B(2)/R-ON) of 5.3 GW/cm(2) (or 7.2 GW/cm(2)). These devices exhibit a current swing over 14 orders of magnitude and a low ideality factor of 1.3. Temperature dependent I-V measurements show that the BV increases with increasing temperature, a signature of avalanche breakdown.