Electrical Properties and Current-Illumination Characteristics of the SiC/GaN Lateral Heterostructure
Enling Li, Ke Qin, Zhen Cui, Yang Shen, Deming Ma, Pei Yuan, Hanxiao Wang
Abstract
The construction of lateral heterostructures (LHSs) has the potential to adjust the electrical properties and current-illumination characteristics through interfacial interactions, providing new possibilities for the development of electron and photoelectric devices. In this research, the electronic and electrical properties as well as the current-illumination characteristics of the SiC/GaN LHSs have been investigated using first principles. The band structure analysis indicates that the band gap of the SiC/GaN LHSs can be regulated by the number of layers, and the type-II heterostructure and built-in electric field are formed. The SiC/GaN LHS have high electron carrier mobility along the Y -axis and higher current compared to the intrinsic g-GaN and g-SiC under the same forward bias voltage ( V b ). Furthermore, the SiC/GaN LHS is a nanoscale p–n junction with a reverse current much smaller than the forward current. Photocurrent exhibits a strong response near-ultraviolet, and the maximum photocurrent is 79.03 a 0 2 /photon. The results show that SiC/GaN LHSs can be used as a potential material for electron and photoelectric devices.