Stacking faults: Origin of leakage current in halide vapor phase epitaxial (001) β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diodes

Killer defects are responsible for leakage current and breakdown in β-gallium oxide (β-Ga2O3) Schottky barrier diodes, which are crucial for power device applications. We have found that stacking faults in the halide vapor phase epitaxial (HVPE) (001) layer are killer defects. One type of defect is found to consist of (111) and (1 1 ¯1) stacking faults. The leakage current is 50 nA/defect at −200 V. This defect appears as a heart-shaped etch pit. Another type of defect is found to be a sequence of stacking faults from microparticles, which are formed at low gas flow rate during HVPE growth. The leakage current is 0.11–0.49 μA/defect at −200 V. This defect appears as a group of bullet-shaped etch pits.