High power Figure-of-Merit, 10.6-kV AlGaN/GaN lateral Schottky barrier diode with single channel and sub-100-{\mu}m anode-to-cathode spacing

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates ultra-high voltage AlGaN/GaN lateral Schottky barrier diodes with a breakdown voltage of 10.6 kV and high power figure of merit, showcasing their potential for ultra-high voltage power electronics.

Contribution

The study presents the first demonstration of UHV AlGaN/GaN SBDs on sapphire with a single channel and sub-100 μm spacing achieving record-breaking breakdown voltage.

Findings

Breakdown voltage of 10.6 kV achieved.

Power figure of merit exceeds 3.8 GW/cm².

Devices operate without additional electric field management.

Abstract

GaN-based lateral Schottky diodes (SBDs) have attracted great attention for high-power applications due to its combined high electron mobility and large critical breakdown field. However, the breakdown voltage (BV) of the SBDs are far from exploiting the material advantages of GaN at present, limiting the desire to use GaN for ultra-high voltage (UHV) applications. Then, a golden question is whether the excellent properties of GaN-based materials can be practically used in the UHV field? Here we demonstrate UHV AlGaN/GaN SBDs on sapphire with a BV of 10.6 kV, a specific on-resistance of 25.8 m{\Omega}.cm2, yielding a power figure of merit of more than 3.8 GW/cm2. These devices are designed with single channel and 85-{\mu}m anode-to-cathode spacing, without other additional electric field management, demonstrating its great potential for the UHV application in power electronics.