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Electrostatic engineering in wide-bandgap semiconductors for high power applications

File(s)
Li_cornellgrad_0058F_12256.pdf (111.7 MB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://doi.org/10.7298/25ad-y909
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/102982
Collections
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Li, Wenshen
Abstract

Compared with silicon, wide-bandgap semiconductors offer much higher power efficiency for high-power applications, primarily due to the much higher breakdown field. While the performance advantage has already been offered by vertical SiC and lateral GaN-on-Si devices, even higher promises from vertical GaN devices and ultrawide-bandgap semiconductors such as _-Ga2O3 have not been fully delivered. One of the major reasons is the challenge in managing the high electric field in those materials, without established selective-area p-type doping techniques as in GaN, or effective p-type doping alone as in _-Ga2O3. In this dissertation, we tackle this challenge in vertical GaN and Ga2O3 power devices by investigating novel electric-field management techniques and doping-related issues. The first half the work is centered around leakage-current reduction in power Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) through the reduced surface field (RESURF) effect, which is arguably necessary for kilovolt-class operations. Two novel device structures are designed and implemented, including i) a trench junction-barrier-Schottky diode (JBSD) structure in GaN that possess the desired RESURF effect without needing for selective-area p-doping, and ii) a trench SBD structure in Ga2O3 that achieves significant leakage-current reduction thus a record-high power figure-of-merit of up to 0.95 GW/cm2 among Ga2O3 power devices, but without the need for p-doping. Furthermore, the ideal reverse leakage characteristics in Ga2O3 SBDs is convincingly identified, enabling the calculation of the practical maximum surface electric field in SBDs – an important concept we unambiguously proposed for the first time. The second half of the work is related to vertical power transistors. Using the MBE-regrowth technique, two novel designs of vertical GaN transistors are demonstrated, including GaN trench MOSFETs with regrown channel and GaN PolarMOS – a VDMOS-like transistor with unique polarization-induced (PI) bulk doping. The main challenge in the regrown lateral p-n junctions in these devices is explicitly revealed by interrogating the regrowth interface, where a significant amount of donor-like charges are found. In addition, sidewall activation and incorporations of PI doping in buried p-type layers are realized for voltage-blocking purposes. In Ga2O3, vertical fin power transistors are developed, showing a high breakdown voltage of over 2.6 kV and a normally-off operation without needing for p-doping. Overall, while p-type doping is extremely beneficial for wide-bandgap vertical power devices, it might not be absolutely necessary, provided that proper electrostatic designs and alternative voltage-blocking junctions are effectively implemented.

Description
451 pages
Date Issued
2020-08
Keywords
Ga2O3
•
GaN
•
Power device
•
Power transistor
•
Schottky barrier diode
•
Wide bandgap
Committee Chair
Xing, H. Grace
Committee Member
Thompson, Mike
Jena, Debdeep
Degree Discipline
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Degree Name
Ph. D., Electrical and Computer Engineering
Degree Level
Doctor of Philosophy
Type
dissertation or thesis
Link(s) to Catalog Record
https://catalog.library.cornell.edu/catalog/13277901

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