Influence of surface trap states on RF/microwave performance of lateral AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode

In this paper, we have presented the influence of surface traps/states on RF and microwave performance of fully recessed Schottky anode AlGaN/GaN lateral Schottky barrier diode (L-SBD) using numerical modeling and simulation. During the etching/treatment of AlGaN or GaN surface, the surface traps are induced, whose physical modeling is proposed here. Through this study, the physical insights on the influence of surface states, near the 2DEG, on the DC and RF/microwave performance of the L-SBDs are presented. It was observed that induced donor states due to etching for recessed anode significantly affect the Schottky barrier and modify the tunneling behavior of anode/GaN interface. This influences the DC and RF/microwave characteristics of L-SBDs, which enhances the cut-off frequency of >140 GHz and high detector sensitivity of βV >1000 mV/mW.