Influence of Energetic Particles and Electron Injection on Minority Carrier Transport Properties in Gallium Oxide

The influence of various energetic particles and electron injection on the transport of minority carriers and non-equilibrium carrier recombination in Ga₂O₃ is summarized in this review. In Ga₂O₃ semiconductors, if robust p-type material and bipolar structures become available, the diffusion lengths of minority carriers will be of critical significance. The diffusion length of minority carriers dictates the functionality of electronic devices such as diodes, transistors, and detectors. One of the problems in ultrawide-bandgap materials technology is the short carrier diffusion length caused by the scattering on extended defects. Electron injection in n- and p-type gallium oxide results in a significant increase in the diffusion length, even after its deterioration, due to exposure to alpha and proton irradiation. Furthermore, post electron injection, the diffusion length of an irradiated material exceeds that of Ga₂O₃ prior to irradiation and injection. The root cause of the electron injection-induced effect is attributed to the increase in the minority carrier lifetime in the material due to the trapping of non-equilibrium electrons on native point defects. It is therefore concluded that electron injection is capable of “healing” the adverse impact of radiation in Ga₂O₃ and can be used for the control of minority carrier transport and, therefore, device performance.