AlN/GaN double-barrier resonant tunneling diodes grown by rf-plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy

AlN/GaN double-barrier resonant tunneling diodes (DB–RTDs) were fabricated on (0001) Al2O3 substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy, using a rf-plasma nitrogen source. The AlN/GaN DB–RTDs were designed to have a 3-ML-thick GaN quantum well and 4-ML-thick AlN barrier layers sandwiched by Si-doped n-type GaN contact layers. The current–voltage characteristics of mesa diode samples showed clear negative differential resistance (NDR) at room temperature. The NDR was observed at 2.4 V with a peak current of 2.9 mA, which corresponds to 180 A/cm2. A peak-to-valley current ratio as high as 32 was obtained.

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