High voltage gallium nitride vertical PN diode
| DWPI Title: High voltage gallium nitride vertical PN diode, has ohmic anode contact formed to p-type region layer, and step-etched multi-zone junction termination structure laterally surrounding ohmic cathode contact in p-type region layer |
| Abstract: A vertical gallium nitride (GaN) PN diode uses epitaxial growth of a thick drift region with a very low carrier concentration and a carefully designed multi-zone junction termination extension to achieve high voltage blocking and high-power efficiency. An exemplary large area (1 mm2) diode had a forward pulsed current of 3.5 A, an 8.3 mΩ-cm2 specific on-resistance, and a 5.3 kV reverse breakdown. A smaller area diode (0.063 mm2) was capable of 6.4 kV breakdown with a specific on-resistance of 10.2 mΩ-cm2, when accounting for current spreading through the drift region at a 45° angle. |
| Use: High voltage gallium nitride vertical PN diode |
| Advantage: The high blocking voltage is achieved through MOCVD epitaxial growth with a very low carrier concentration, and a carefully designed 4-zone step-etched junction termination extension (JTE). A large area diode with a forward pulsed current of 3.5 A, a specific on-resistance, and a reverse breakdown is demonstrated. A small area diodes having a non-destructive breakdown of 6.4 kV with a specific on resistance when accounting for current spreading through the drift region at an angle is demonstrated, and confirming an avalanche process for the devices. |
| Novelty: The diode has a low-doped n-type gallium nitride drift layer epitaxially grown on a gallium n-ride substrate, where the drift layer is greater than 10 microns in thickness and has a donor concentration of less than a specific cubic centimeter. A p-type region has p-type layers epitaxial grown on the layer to form a PN junction with the layer. An ohmic cathode contact is provided to the substrate or contact layer, and an ohmic anode contact to the region. A step-etched multi-zone junction termination extension structure laterally surrounds the contact in the region. |
| Filed: 1/10/2022 |
| Application Number: US17572360A |
| Tech ID: SD 14700.2 |
| This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention. |
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