Reliability of Au-Free AlGaN/GaN-on-Silicon Schottky Barrier Diodes Under ON-State Stress

In this paper, we report the results of an experimental analysis of the degradation induced by ON-state stress in GaN-based Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs). When a high stress current is applied to the device, turn-ON voltage (VTON), forward voltage (VF), and ON-resistance (RON) are affected by charge carrier trapping occurring at the AlGaN surface close to the anode corners and/or into the AlGaN barrier layer. We have investigated the degradation of SBDs under different stress conditions, analyzing the influence of temperature and voltage, investigating the activation energy of the traps, and hence the trapping mechanisms. In addition, thanks to this approach, the device lifetime has been evaluated, proving good device reliability.