Enhancing $\beta $ -Ga $_{\text{2}}$ O $_{\text{3}}$ Schottky Barrier Diodes’ Performance Through Low-Temperature Post-Annealing: Achieving Optimal Forward Current–Voltage Characteristics

In this article, we present a low-temperature post-annealing (LTPA) technique to achieve ideal forward current–voltage (I
$-$
V) characteristics for
$\boldsymbol{\beta}$
-gallium oxide (
$\boldsymbol{\beta} $
-Ga
$_{\text{2}}$
O
$_{\text{3}}$
) Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs). The Ni/Au//
$\boldsymbol{\beta} $
-Ga
$_{\text{2}}$
O
$_{\text{3}}$
SBD underwent LTPA at 350
$^{\circ}$
C, achieving an ideal
n
factor of 1.00 and an average SS of 61 mV/decade as forward current varying in the four orders of magnitude range. This improvement is attributed to the compensation of the interface donor-like states through the LTPA process, leading to a significant decrease in the interface state density (N
$_{\text{ss}}$
). In addition, the
$\boldsymbol{\beta} $
-Ga
$_{\text{2}}$
O
$_{\text{3}}$
SBD with LTPA exhibited an enhancement in breakdown voltage (
$\textit{V}_{\text{br}}$
) compared to the control device (without LTPA) due to the improved interface quality. Overall, these findings demonstrate the potential of LTPA as a promising technique for engineering the Schottky interface of
$\boldsymbol{\beta} $
-Ga
$_{\text{2}}$
O
$_{\text{3}}$
SBDs.