Anomalous Fe diffusion in Si-ion-implanted β–Ga2O3 and its suppression in Ga2O3 transistor structures through highly resistive buffer layers

The thermal behavior of Fe as a compensating acceptor impurity in β-Ga2O3 (010) was studied in view of growing interests in semi-insulating Fe-doped Ga2O3 substrates for the realization of high-performance Ga2O3 field-effect transistors (FETs). An anomalous redistribution of Fe beyond the extent of intrinsic thermal diffusion was revealed by secondary ion mass spectroscopy in device-relevant structures where Ga2O3 grown homoepitaxially on Fe-doped substrates was doped by Si ion (Si+) implantation and annealed at high temperatures. The enhanced Fe diffusion was attributed to an athermal process involving intrinsic defects from the region of implantation damage. An undoped Ga2O3 buffer between the Si+-implanted layer and the Fe-doped substrate effectively suppressed Fe outdiffusion by protecting the substrate against unintentional ion damage or defects from a remote source, thereby preserving the electrical integrity of the Si-doped material. Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements indicated that the undoped Ga2O3 buffer was highly resistive with inter-device leakage attributable to surface conduction via a variable-range hopping mechanism. The buffer scheme, together with dielectric passivation to eliminate surface leakage, was proposed to constitute an integral process module for future lateral Ga2O3 FET devices.