Electrical Transport Characteristics of Vertical GaN Schottky-Barrier Diode in Reverse Bias and Its Numerical Simulation

We investigated the temperature-dependent reverse characteristics (J(R)-V-R-T) of vertical GaN Schottky-barrier diodes with and without a fluorine-implanted edge termination (ET). To understand the device leakage mechanism, temperature-dependent characterizations were performed, and the observed reverse current was modeled through technology computer-aided design. Different levels of current were observed in both forward and reverse biases for the ET and non-ET devices, which suggested a change in the conduction mechanism for the observed leakages. The measured J(R)-V-R-T characteristics of the non-edge-terminated device were successfully fitted in the entire temperature range with the phonon-assisted tunneling model, whereas for the edge-terminated device, the reverse characteristics were modeled by taking into account the emission of trapped electrons at a high temperature and field caused by Poole-Frenkel emission.

Automated summary

We studied the temperature-dependent reverse characteristics (J(R)-V-R-T) of vertical GaN Schottky-barrier diodes with and without a fluorine-implanted edge termination (ET). Through temperature-dependent characterizations and technology computer-aided design modeling, we observed different levels of current in both forward and reverse biases for the ET and non-ET devices, indicating a change in the conduction mechanism for the observed leakages. We successfully fitted the measured J(R)-V-R-T characteristics of the non-edge-terminated device with the phonon-assisted tunneling model, while for the edge-terminated device, the reverse characteristics were modeled by considering the emission of trapped electrons and field caused by Poole-Frenkel emission at high temperature.