Study on the electrical performance degradation mechanism of β-Ga₂O₃ p-n diode under heavy ion radiation

The impact of heavy ion irradiation on the β-Ga₂O₃ p-n diode and its physical mechanism have been studied in this Letter. After the irradiation fluence of 1 × 10⁸ cm⁻², it is observed that the electrical performance of the device is significantly degraded. The forward current density (J_F) is reduced by 49.4%, the reverse current density (J_R) is increased by more than two orders of magnitude, and the breakdown voltage (V_BR) is decreased by 30%. Based on the results of the deep-level transient spectroscopy measurement, it is concluded that acceptor-like traps generated with an energy level of E_C-0.75 eV in the β-Ga₂O₃ drift layer dominate the J_F degradation of the device, which are most likely related to Ga vacancies. These acceptor-like traps result in the reduction of change carrier concentration, which in turn leads to a decrease in J_F. In addition, according to the conductive atomic force microscope measurements and theoretical calculation, it is clearly observed that the latent tracks induced by heavy ion irradiation can act as leakage paths, leading to a significant degradation of J_R and V_BR.