Modeling dislocation-related leakage currents in GaN p-n diodes

Abstract

Finite element analysis software was used to model and visualize two p-n junction models: one with a single threading dislocation (TD) and a control model without a dislocation. TDs are modeled as a Gaussian distribution of trap states with an FWHM of 5 nm localized around the r = 0 line in a cylindrical coordination such that the linear trap state density was 1 trap/c-translation; this model allows the cylindrical symmetry of the c-plane GaN crystal orientation to be utilized to avoid more computationally intensive 3D models. It was discovered that the interaction of the charged dislocation region with the p-n junction had many notable effects. At zero bias, it was observed that the depletion region width (using the Depletion Approximation) and the maximum electric field were markedly reduced near the dislocation line. More significantly, an asymmetric reduction in the diffusion barrier for electrons (V bi eff = 3.03 eV) and holes (V bi eff = 0.81 eV) was observed due to the asymmetric nature of the dislocation band bending related to the doping. The asymmetric reductions in diffusion barriers persisted into V A = 2.4 V leakage case where asymmetric current profiles for electrons and holes were also observed. Lastly, the diffusion barrier reduction resulted in an additional Shockley-Read-Hall nonradiative recombination leakage caused by a high np-product and trap state density near the intersection of the dislocation with the junction.