1.7-kV and 0.55-mΩ · cm² GaN p-n Diodes on Bulk GaN Substrates With Avalanche Capability

We report vertical GaN-on-GaN p-n diodes with a breakdown voltage (BV) of 1.7 kV and a low differential specific ON-resistanceRONof 0.55mΩ · cm²with current spreading considered (or 0.4mΩ · cm²using the diode bottom mesa size), resulting in a figure-of-merit (VB²/RON)of 5.3 GW/cm2(or 7.2 GW/cm²). These devices exhibit a current swing over 14 orders of magnitude and a low ideality factor of 1.3. Temperature dependentI–Vmeasurements show that the BV increases with increasing temperature, a signature of avalanche breakdown.