Leakage current and breakdown of GaN-on-Silicon vertical structures

A TCAD-based approach has been used to investigate the leakage current and breakdown regime of vertical GaN/AlGaN/Si structures at different ambient temperatures. A good agreement with experimental data has been obtained by implementing both trap-assisted and Poole-Frenkel conduction mechanisms into the buffer layers. The latter mechanisms have been proven to anticipate the onset of breakdown at high temperatures.