1.1-kV Vertical GaN p-n Diodes With p-GaN Regrown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

High-voltage vertical regrown p-n junction diodes on bulk GaN substrates are reported in this letter with molecular-beam-epitaxy regrown p-GaN on metalorganic-chemical-vapor-deposition grown n-GaN drift region. The highest breakdown voltage is measured at 1135 V, and the differential on-resistance is 3.9 mOhm.cm
²
at room temperature. The forward I-V show a turn-ON voltage near 3.9 V and an ideality factor of 2.5. Electroluminescence measurement of regrown p-n junctions shows ~30 times reduced emission intensity compared with as-grown p-n junctions, indicating presence of excessive non-radiative recombination centers introduced by the regrowth process. Temperature dependent reverse I-V measurements suggest that variable range hopping inside the depleted regrown p-GaN layer is likely the mechanism of the reverse leakage. This is the first high-voltage vertical regrown p-n junction ever reported in the GaN system.