Lateral p-type GaN Schottky barrier diode with annealed Mg ohmic contact layer demonstrating ideal current–voltage characteristic.

We have demonstrated the fabrication process for a lateral p-type Schottky barrier diode (SBD) with the annealed Mg ohmic contact layer on a MOVPE-grown p-GaN wafer and measured the electrical characteristic of the diode. Because of the selective-area ohmic contact, the interface between the Schottky electrode and p-type GaN is well protected from any damage introduced by dry-etching or regrowth. The ideality factor of the forward current–voltage characteristic is as low as 1.09 at room temperature and an on–off ratio above 109 is also achieved. Various metals are deposited as the Schottky electrode and the work function dependence of the Schottky barrier height is confirmed with a pinning factor of 0.58. The temperature dependence of the current–voltage characteristic indicates that the GaN p-type SBD still fits the thermionic emission mode at 600 K with an ideality factor of 1.1. The reverse current of the p-SBD is also studied with the Poole–Frenkel emission model, and the trap energy level in the p-GaN is confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]