Kilovolt, Low-Barrier Ga<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf>JBS diode with Ultra-Low Forward Voltage

Abstract

Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) has attracted extensive attention for next-generation power devices. However, the reported Ga2O3 rectifiers typically exhibit high turn-on voltage (VON) and forward voltage drop (V F), leading to increased conduction losses. Conventional power SBDs are limited by a tradeoff between VF and leakage current (I R), which may pose a critical challenge for ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) SBDs due to the high junction electric field (and I R). This work demonstrates the first Ga2O3 JBS diode with a low-barrier Schottky contact. Deploying the TiN contact, an ultra-low VON of 0.52 V and VF of 1 V [at forward current (I F) of 150 Acm2], along with a high breakdown voltage (BV) over 1 kV, are demonstrated in Ga2O3 JBS diodes. Such VF is lower than the usual VF of commercial 650V-rated SiC JBS diodes (1.31.8 V), indicating the promise of Ga2O3 JBS diode for power electronics applications. In addition to device innovation, this work also presents the first comparison of Ga2O3 JBS diodes formed along [100] and [010] orientations, which reveals the strong impact of the orientation anisotropy of Ga2O3 on the JBS device performance.