Ultra-low reverse leakage in large area kilo-volt class β -Ga2O3 trench Schottky barrier diode with high-k dielectric RESURF

We introduce vertical Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) based on β-Ga2O3 with trench architecture, featuring a high-permittivity dielectric RESURF structure. These diodes are designed for application demanding high voltage and current capacities while maintaining ultra-low reverse leakage currents. The trench design plays a pivotal role in reducing the electric field at the metal–semiconductor junction, thereby yielding minimal reverse leakage attributed to field emission under high reverse bias conditions. Additionally, the incorporation of a high-k dielectric helps to suppress leakage through the trench bottom corner dielectric layer. The small area trench SBD (200 × 200 μm2) demonstrates a breakdown voltage exceeding 3 kV, accompanied by a reverse leakage current of less than 1 μA/cm2 at 3 kV. Moving on to larger area devices, the 1 × 1 and 2 × 2 mm2 devices exhibit breakdown voltages of 1.8 and 1.4 kV, while accommodating pulsed forward currents of 3.5 and 15 A, respectively. The capacitance, stored charge, and switching energy of the trench SBDs are also found to be less than the similarly rated commercial SiC SBDs, reinforcing their potential for enhanced switching efficiency.