Relationship between crystal defects and leakage current in β-Ga₂O₃ Schottky barrier diodes

We fabricated Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) on the entire surface of a β-Ga 2 O 3 single crystal, and investigated the leakage current in both forward and reverse directions. Subsequently, we investigated the distribution of dislocation and void etch pits on the entire surface. The dislocation etch pit density on the surface ranged from <1 × 10 3 to 6 × 10 4 , and its average was 1.1 × 10 4 cm −2 . The void etch pit density on the surface ranged from <5 × 10 2 to 7 × 10 3 , and its average was 6 × 10 3 cm −2 . From a comparison between the SBD leakage current and the dislocation and void etch pit densities, we found that dislocations are closely related to the SBD reverse leakage current, and that not all voids produce the leakage current.