Low Frequency Electronic Noise Characterization of Au-W/β-Ga2O3 Schottky Diodes
Authors: Zhang Bingyu , Chen Yangyuan , Xian Minghan , Ren Fan , Pearton Stephen J , Bosman Gijs , Ural Ant 
Published: August 2024

Ultra-wide bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors have attracted tremendous amount of interest for applications in high-power electronics and solar-blind UV photodetectors. In particular, β-Ga2O3 has attracted significant research attention in recent years due to its promising electrical and optical characteristics including a large bandgap, high breakdown electrical field, and large Baliga’s figure of merit compared to well-established wide-bandgap technologies such as GaN and SiC [1].

Low frequency electronic noise, which is present in all electronic devices, can be used as a diagnostic tool for semiconductor material and device characterization. By studying the low frequency noise in semiconductor materials and devices, the physics associated with the noise properties of bulk and interface defects and traps can be investigated [2]. Measurement of low frequency noise is also crucial for evaluating material quality and device reliability.

In this work, we investigate the forward-bias diode parameters and low-frequency electronic noise in Au-W/β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diodes. The Schottky contact is formed by depositing 20 nm of Tungsten (W) using dc sputtering followed by 340 nm of Gold (Au) using e-beam evaporation, and subsequent annealing [3].

We first measure the I-V characteristics and extract important diode parameters, such as the Schottky barrier height, ideality factor, and series resistance from room temperature forward-bias current-voltage characteristics. The extracted Schottky barrier height for these devices is in the range 0.7-0.8 eV and the ideality factor is approximately 1.2.

We next measure the low-frequency electronic noise in Au-W/β-Ga2O3 Schottky diodes at different forward bias voltages at room temperature. We find that the current noise spectral density exhibits 1/f-type behavior for all forward bias voltages at low frequency with an exponent ranging from 0.75 to 1.15, indicating that the low frequency noise of these devices is dominated by excess (flicker) noise. No Lorentzian-shaped generation-recombination (G-R) noise is observed. At low frequencies, the shot noise contribution is found to be negligible for the values of the current in our devices, and the total noise is 1/f-limited.

We also investigate the dependence of the current noise spectral density on forward bias current, revealing different relationships in different current regimes. At low currents, the noise spectral density is found to scale approximately as the square of current, whereas at high currents, the noise spectral density begins to saturate. Such noise behavior can be attributed to different noise sources dominating in different current regimes. Furthermore, using the noise figure of merit adapted for ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor devices [4], we find that the Au-W/β-Ga2O3 devices have lower noise levels compared to other emerging UWBG materials and similar noise levels as well-established technologies such as GaN.

These results provide important insights into the electronic noise properties of Au-W/β-Ga2O3 Schottky diodes and show that low frequency noise characterization is an important diagnostic tool for assessing the quality and reliability of gallium oxide based wide-bandgap materials and device technologies.

References:

[1] S. J. Pearton, J. Yang, P. H. Cary, F. Ren, J. Kim, M. J. Tadjer, M. A. Mastro, Applied Physics Reviews 5, 011301 (2018).

[2] Y. An, H. Rao, G. Bosman and A. Ural, Applied Physics Letters 100, 213102 (2012).

[3] M. Xian, C. Fares, J. Bae, J. Kim, F. Ren, and S. J. Pearton, ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology 8, 799 (2019).

[4] S. Ghosh, D. H. Mudiyanselage, F. Kargar, Y. Zhao, H. Fu, and A. A. Balandin, arXiv preprint, arXiv:2307.15659, https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2307.15659 (2023).

Figure 1