Electronic parameters and carrier transport mechanism of high-barrier Se Schottky contacts to n-type GaN

• Microstructural and electrical characteristics of Se/n-GaN diode have been studied.
• High barrier height is obtained on Se/n-GaN Schottky diode.
• At higher voltage regions there is space charge limited conduction (SCLC) mechanism.
• Schottky emission mechanism is found to be dominant in the reverse bias region.

The electrical properties and current conduction mechanism of high-barrier Se/n-GaN Schottky diode have been investigated for the first time by current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) results confirmed that no reaction occurs between Se film and the GaN substrate during Se deposition. Investigations reveal that the contact exhibited an excellent rectification behavior. The estimated barrier height of Se/n-GaN Schottky contact is 0.92 eV (I–V) and 1.27 eV (C–V) with the ideality factor of 1.10. The barrier height and series resistance are extracted by Cheung's functions. It is observed that the series resistance values obtained from Cheung's functions is in good agreement with each other. Further, capacitance–voltage measurements of the Se/n-GaN Schottky diode are carried out at different frequencies. The discrepancy between Schottky barrier heights obtained from I–V and C–V measurements is also explained. The AFM results showed that the surface morphology of the Se Schottky contacts on n-GaN is fairly smooth. The forward bias current transport mechanism of the Se/n-type GaN Schottky diode is determined by the log–log plot of I–V characteristics. Investigations reveal that the Schottky emission mechanism is found to be dominant in the reverse bias region of Se/n-GaN Schottky diode.