US 12,218,255 B2Granted

High voltage gallium nitride vertical PN diode

AssigneeNational Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC

InventorsLuke Yates, Brendan P. Gunning, Mary H. Crawford, Jeffrey Steinfeldt, Michael L. Smith, Vincent M. Abate, Jeramy R. Dickerson, Andrew M. Armstrong, Andrew Binder, Andrew A. Allerman, Robert J. Kaplar, Jack David Flicker, Gregory W. Pickrell

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Abstract

A vertical gallium nitride (GaN) PN diode uses epitaxial growth of a thick drift region with a very low carrier concentration and a carefully designed multi-zone junction termination extension to achieve high voltage blocking and high-power efficiency. An exemplary large area (1 mm2) diode had a forward pulsed current of 3.5 A, an 8.3 mΩ-cm2 specific on-resistance, and a 5.3 kV reverse breakdown. A smaller area diode (0.063 mm2) was capable of 6.4 kV breakdown with a specific on-resistance of 10.2 mΩ-cm2, when accounting for current spreading through the drift region at a 45° angle.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A high voltage gallium nitride vertical PN diode, comprising:

a high-doped n-type gallium nitride substrate or contact layer;
a low-doped n-type gallium nitride drift layer epitaxially grown on the gallium nitride substrate, wherein the drift layer is greater than 10 microns in thickness and has a donor concentration of less than 2×1015/cm3;
a p-type region comprising one or more p-type layers epitaxially grown on the drift layer, thereby forming a PN junction with the drift layer;
an ohmic cathode contact deposited on the high-doped n-type gallium nitride substrate or contact layer;
an ohmic anode contact deposited on the p-type region;
and
a step-etched multi-zone junction termination extension structure laterally surrounding the anode contact in the p-type region.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/572,360Filed 10 Jan 2022 · continuation in part
Priority: 9 Oct 2018
Published: US 2022/0165888 A126 May 2022
Granted: 4 Feb 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification16 codes

H10D 8/411
Diodes: pN diodes having planar bodies
H10D 8/045
Manufacture or treatment: of PN junction diodes
H10D 8/422
Diodes: pN diodes having the PN junctions in mesas
H10D 62/104
For increasing or controlling the breakdown voltage of reverse-biased devices: having particular shapes of the bodies at or near reverse-biased…

Family

Application62/743,287Us provisional application · filed 9 Oct 2018
Application16/589,428Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 1 Oct 2019
US 2022/0165888 A1Pre-grant publication · published 26 May 2022
US 11,227,844 B1Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 12,218,255 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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