Charge Transport in Vertical GaN Schottky Barrier Diodes: A Refined Physical Model for Conductive Dislocations

Charge transport mechanisms of forward and reverse leakage currents in vertical GaN Schottky barrier diodes are investigated by measuring the temperature-dependent current–voltage characteristics. The results show that the leakage current is primarily governed by dislocation-associated thermionic field emission (TFE). The primary transport path is the reduced, localized conduction band around the dislocation core rather than the continuum defect states. A refined phenomenological physical model is developed for conductive dislocations in GaN, emphasizing that: 1) surface donors, surrounding the core of dislocations, can significantly shrink the barrier region after ionization, causing severe TFE leakage; 2) the
$\text{O}_{N}$
donors likely to be responsible for TFE have a typical density of
$\sim 1\,\,\!\times \! \,\,10^{{18}}$
cm
$^{-{3}}$
at 300 K and activation energy of 78 meV; and 3) the barrier height at donor sites is ~0.65 eV at 300 K, which is reduced by ~0.4 eV with respect to the dislocation-free region.