Investigation of the leakage mechanism in solar-blind AlGaN p-i-n photodetector at high reverse bias.

The leakage mechanism of solar-blind AlGaN p-i-n photodetectors has been investigated. By studying the temperature-dependent I–V curves, we determined that Poole–Frenkel emission is the main source of the leakage current, and the corresponding trap energy level is 0.61 eV. Cathodoluminescence measurement demonstrates that the leakage current of the device may be related to the deep-level traps in the p-AlGaN layer. An analysis of deep-level transient spectroscopy testing results for p-AlGaN suggests that nitrogen vacancies formed during the epitaxial growth of high Al-content p-AlGaN act as electron traps. The trap potential energy decreases at high reverse bias voltage, making trapped electrons easier to escape, which increases the leakage current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]