Analysis of the reverse I-V characteristics of diamond-based PIN diodes

Diamond is one of the most promising candidates for high power and high temperature applications, due to its large bandgap and high thermal conductivity. As a result of the growth and fabrication process of diamond-based devices, structural defects such as threading dislocations (TDs) may degrade the electrical properties of such devices. Understanding and control of such defects are important for improving device technology, particularly the reverse breakdown characteristics. Here, we show that the reverse bias current-voltage characteristics in diamond PIN diodes can be described by hopping conduction and Poole-Frenkel emission through TDs over the temperature (T) range of 323K < T < 423K, for typical values of the TD density found in epitaxially grown materials. Published by AIP Publishing.