High-energy proton irradiation of MgO/GaN metal oxide semiconductor diodes

Abstract

MgO/GaN metal oxide semiconductor diodes were irradiated with 40 MeV protons at a fluence of 5 × 109 cm-2, simulating long-term (10 yr) exposure in space-born applications. The result of the proton irradiation was a decrease in device capacitance, consistent with the creation of deep electron traps that reduce the effective channel doping and also a decrease in breakdown field from ∼106 V cm-1 in control devices to 0.76 × 106 V cm-1 in devices irradiated with the gate metal in place. The capacitance of the device irradiated with the contacts in place recovers to the same value as the contact diodes. The Dit values are decreased by the H2 anneal in both the unirradiated and irradiated devices.