Low-resistance GaN tunnel homojunctions with 150 kA/cm^2 current and repeatable negative differential resistance

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates GaN tunnel homojunctions with high current densities and negative differential resistance at room temperature, achieved through optimized doping, promising for high-power electronic applications.

Contribution

The study introduces GaN n++/p++ tunnel junctions with record-high current densities and stable negative differential resistance at room temperature.

Findings

Achieved 150 kA/cm^2 current density in GaN tunnel junctions.

Observed hysteresis-free negative differential resistance at room temperature.

Low series resistance of 1 x 10^-5 ohm.cm^2 in the devices.

Abstract

We report GaN n++/p++ interband tunnel junctions with repeatable negative differential resistance and low resistance. Reverse and forward tunneling current densities were observed to increase as Si and Mg doping concentrations were increased. Hysteresis-free, bidirectional negative differential resistance was observed at room temperature from these junctions at a forward voltage of ~1.6-2 V. Thermionic PN junctions with tunnel contact to the p-layer exhibited forward current density of 150 kA/cm^2 at 7.6 V, with a low series device resistance of 1 x 10^-5 ohm.cm^2.