Activation energy of silicon diffusion in gallium oxide: Roles of the mediating defects charge states and phase modification

Silicon (Si) is an efficient n-type dopant in gallium oxide (Ga2O3)-an ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor promising in a number of applications. However, in spite of the technological importance for device fabrication, the activation energy for Si diffusion in Ga2O3 is missing in the literature. In the present work, we do such measurements in ion implanted monoclinic beta-Ga2O3 samples employing anneals in air ambient, also admitting the influence of potential ion beam induced phase modifications on diffusion. Importantly, we show that Si diffusion in beta-Ga2O3 fits with the concentration dependent diffusion model, involving neutral and single negatively charged point defects to mediate the process; so that we assumed gallium vacancies in the corresponding charge states to assist Si diffusion in beta-Ga2O3 with activation energies of 3.2 +/- 0.3 and 5.4 +/- 0.4 eV, respectively. Moreover, we also found that a preexisting phase modified surface layer efficiently suppressed Si diffusion in beta-Ga2O3 for temperatures up to 1000 degrees C.

Automated summary

In this study, the activation energy for Si diffusion in beta-Ga2O3 is found to be 3.2 +/- 0.3 and 5.4 +/- 0.4 eV, with neutral and single negatively charged point defects mediating the diffusion process. Additionally, a preexisting phase-modified surface layer is discovered to efficiently suppress Si diffusion in beta-Ga2O3 up to temperatures of 1000 degrees C.