130 mA/mm $\beta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ MESFET with Low-Temperature MOVPE-Regrown Ohmic Contacts

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates a high-performance $eta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ MESFET with record low contact resistance and high current density, achieved through low-temperature MOVPE regrowth, highlighting its potential for advanced power devices.

Contribution

It introduces a novel all-MOVPE-grown $eta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ MESFET with record low contact resistance and high current, emphasizing the effectiveness of MOVPE for high-performance device fabrication.

Findings

Maximum drain-to-source current of 130 mA/mm

High I$_{ON}$/I$_{OFF}$ ratio of >10$^{10}$

Achieved power figure of merit of 25 MW/cm$^{2}$

Abstract

We report on the demonstration of metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy-regrown (MOVPE) ohmic contacts in an all MOVPE-grown $\beta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ metal-semiconductor field effect transistor (MESFET). The low-temperature (600$^{\circ}$C) heavy (n$^{+}$) Si-doped regrown layers exhibit extremely high conductivity with sheet resistance of 73 $\Omega$/$\square$ and record low metal/n$^{+}$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ contact resistance of 80 m$\Omega$.mm and specific contact resistivity of 8.3$\times$10$^{-7}$ $\Omega$.cm$^{2}$ were achieved. The fabricated MESFETs exhibit a maximum drain-to-source current of 130 mA/mm, a high I$_{ON}$/I$_{OFF}$ of $>$10$^{10}$ with a high power FOM of 25 MW/cm$^{2}$ were achieved without any field plates. Nanoparticle-assisted Raman thermometry, thermal modeling, and infrared thermography were performed to assess the device self-heating under the high current and power conditions. This demonstration shows the promise of MOVPE technique for the realization of high-performance lateral $\beta$-Ga$_2$O$_3$ devices and also highlights the need for device-level thermal management.