Temperature-dependent electrical characteristics of neutron-irradiated GaN Schottky barrier diodes

Abstract Temperature-dependent electrical characteristics were explicitly investigated for a 400-μm diameter neutron-irradiated (NI) GaN Schottky barrier diode (SBD). Based on C-V measurements, a marked decrease in electron concentration has been revealed for the NI diode compared with the pristine sample, suggesting a thermal-enhanced carrier removal effect. Neutron irradiation causes noticeable Schottky barrier height inhomogeneity, which was studied by a two-barrier model. Data indicates that neutron irradiation affects a small but measurable suppression of leakage current as well as low frequency noise level. Despite a new deep-level trap was identified, the temperature-dependent electrical results specified GaN SBD's outstanding resistance to neutron irradiations and robustness in extreme operation temperatures.