Effect of 5 MeV proton irradiation on electrical and trap characteristics of β-Ga2O3 power diode

In this study, impact of 5 MeV proton irradiation with radiation fluence of 1013 cm-2 on /3-Ga2O3 power diode is investigated by a /3-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diode (SBD). Via temperature-dependent measurements, carrier removal rate RC is determined to be 7.26 x 102 cm-1 at 300 K. Meanwhile, the threshold voltage (Von) and ideality factor (n) almost remain stable after proton irradiation. A close-to-unity n was observed for a wide temperature range indicating near-ideal Schottky characteristics. Dynamic degradation was observed at 300K, but was greatly suppressed at a low temperature of 100K. Meanwhile, two more bulk traps are discovered in proton irradiated /3-Ga2O3 SBD by deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The larger corrected trap concentration (NTa) in proton irradiated /3-Ga2O3 SBD was regarded as the reason behind slightly worsened dynamic onresistance instability at 300 K. Furthermore, lower low frequency noise is revealed for proton irradiated device at room temperature and cryogenic temperature. The study demonstrates the competitive irradiation hardness of /3-Ga2O3 power diodes and paves a solid path for the deployment of /3-Ga2O3 in space.