Wide-Bandgap Nickel Oxide with Tunable Acceptor Concentration for Multidimensional Power Devices

Multidimensional power devices can achieve performance beyond conventional limits by deploying charge-balanced p-n junctions. A key obstacle to developing such devices in many wide-bandgap (WBG) and ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors is the difficulty of native p-type doping. Here the WBG nickel oxide (NiO) as an alternative p-type material is investigated. The acceptor concentration (N-A) in NiO is modulated by oxygen partial pressure during magnetron sputtering and characterized using a p-n(+) heterojunction diode fabricated on gallium oxide (Ga2O3) substrate. Capacitance and breakdown measurements reveal a tunable N-A from < 10(18) cm(-3) to 2x10(18) cm(-3) with the practical breakdown field (E-B) of 3.8 to 6.3 MV cm(-1). This N-A range allows for charge balance to n-type region with reasonable process latitude, and E-B is high enough to pair with many WBG and UWBG semiconductors. The extracted N-A is then used to design a multidimensional Ga2O3 diode with NiO field-modulation structure. The diodes fabricated with two different N-A both achieve 8000 V breakdown voltage and 4.7 MV cm(-1) average electric field. This field is over three times higher than the best report in prior multi-kilovolt lateral devices. These results show the promise of p-type NiO for pushing the performance limits of power devices.

Automated summary

The key obstacle to developing multidimensional power devices in wide-bandgap and ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors is the difficulty of native p-type doping. In this study, nickel oxide (NiO) is investigated as an alternative p-type material. By modulating the acceptor concentration in NiO through oxygen partial pressure, the charge balance and high breakdown field values are achieved. Multidimensional diodes with NiO field-modulation structure demonstrate superior performance compared to prior devices. The promising results suggest that p-type NiO can push the performance limits of power devices.