Polarization-Induced Zener Tunnel Junctions in Wide-Bandgap Heterostructures

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates polarization-induced Zener tunneling in wide-bandgap GaN heterojunctions, enabling novel device applications like zero-bias rectification and high-temperature multijunction solar cells.

Contribution

It introduces a new method to achieve interband tunneling in wide-bandgap semiconductors using polarization-induced electric fields.

Findings

Enhanced reverse-bias conductivity in GaN tunnel diodes

Potential for high-temperature, high-field optoelectronic devices

Enabling multijunction solar cells in wide-bandgap materials

Abstract

The large electronic polarization in III-V nitrides allow for novel physics not possible in other semiconductor families. In this work, interband Zener tunneling in wide-bandgap GaN heterojunctions is demonstrated by using polarization-induced electric fields. The resulting tunnel diodes are more conductive under reverse bias, which has applications for zero-bias rectification and mm-wave imaging. Since interband tunneling is traditionally prohibitive in wide-bandgap semiconductors, these polarization-induced structures and their variants can enable a number of devices such as multijunction solar cells that can operate under elevated temperatures and high fields.