Influence of contact shape on AlGaN/GaN Schottky diode prepared on Si with thick buffer layer

Abstract

A report on the fabrication and characterization of high performance conventional and ring-shaped AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode on Si is presented. The resulting device exhibited low leakage current, which led to a detectivity performance of 3.48×10¹³ and 1.76×10¹³ cm Hz^1/2 W⁻¹, respectively, for both conventional and ring-shaped Schottky diode. The differential resistances of both devices were obtained at approximately 1.37×10¹² and 1.41×10¹³ Ω, respectively. The zero bias peak responsivities of conventional and ring-shaped Schottky diodes were estimated to be 3.18 and 2.08 A cm⁻²/W, respectively. The typical UV to visible rejection ratio was observed over three orders of magnitude at zero bias. The C–V measurements was used to calculate and analyze the polarization sheet charge density of the AlGaN barrier layer by using self-consistently solving Schrodinger’s and Poisson’s equations. It is demonstrated that the ring shape of the Schottky barrier has higher polarization sheet charge density, which has the consequence that the Schottky shape has influence on the strain of the AlGaN barrier layer.