Physical Mechanism of the β‐Ga2O3 PN Tunneling Diode with a Low Specific On‐Resistance

Abstract

This study proposes a β‐Ga2O3 pn tunneling diode (PNT‐diode) in which the p‐type region is obtained by sputtering a thin NiOx layer in the pure argon atmosphere. The diode exhibits good characteristics: a high current density of 1530 A cm−2 at 10 V and a low specific on‐resistance of 0.56 mΩ cm2. Moreover, its breakdown voltage of is about four times compared to a conventional diode, and its Baliga's figure of merit (BFOM) is as high as 3.25 GW cm−2. Ni/NiOx diodes are simulated by Silvaco simulation software to investigate the physical mechanism of the low specific on‐resistance of the PNT‐diode, and the results demonstrate that Ni and NiOx can form a reverse diode, and that PNT‐diode is equivalent to the Ni/NiOx reverse diode and the NiOx/β‐Ga2O3 forward diode connected in series. Finally, the electric field distribution of the PNT‐diode is simulated, and it is found that p‐type NiOx can significantly reduce the peak electric field at the anode edge.