Effects of Proton Irradiation on GaN Vacuum Electron Nanodiodes

Gallium nitride (GaN)-based nanoscale vacuum electron devices, which offer advantages of both traditional vacuum tube operation and modern solid-state technology, are attractive for radiation-hard applications due to the inherent radiation hardness of vacuum electron devices and the high radiation t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE transactions on electron devices 2024-01, Vol.71 (1), p.827-832
Main Authors: Sapkota, Keshab R., Vizkelethy, Gyorgy, Burns, George R., Wang, George T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Devices
Diodes
displacement damage
Electrons
Etching
field emitters
Fluence
Gallium nitride
gallium nitride (GaN)
Gallium nitrides
Leakage current
Nanoscale devices
Particle beams
power electronics
Proton irradiation
Protons
Radiation
Radiation effects
Radiation hardening
Radiation tolerance
reliability
Silicon
Space applications
vacuum electronics
wide bandgap
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Summary:Gallium nitride (GaN)-based nanoscale vacuum electron devices, which offer advantages of both traditional vacuum tube operation and modern solid-state technology, are attractive for radiation-hard applications due to the inherent radiation hardness of vacuum electron devices and the high radiation tolerance of GaN. Here, we investigate the radiation hardness of top-down fabricated n-GaN nanoscale vacuum electron diodes (NVEDs) irradiated with 2.5-MeV protons (p) at various doses. We observe a slight decrease in forward current and a slight increase in reverse leakage current as a function of cumulative protons fluence due to a dopant compensation effect. The NVEDs overall show excellent radiation hardness with no major change in electrical characteristics up to a cumulative fluence of 5E14 p/cm2, which is significantly higher than the existing state-of-the-art radiation-hardened devices to our knowledge. The results show promise for a new class of GaN-based nanoscale vacuum electron devices for use in harsh radiation environments and space applications.
ISSN:0018-9383
1557-9646
DOI:10.1109/TED.2023.3330458