Demonstration of Ga 2 O 3 Lateral MOSFET With Integrated Freewheeling Diode for Low-Loss Reverse Conduction

The ultra wide bandgap semiconductor gallium oxide (Ga<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub>O<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub>) has emerged as a promising platform for next-generation high-voltage power electronics due to its wide bandgap (~4.8 eV), high critical electric field (~8MV/cm), and favorable figures of merit. However, conventional Ga<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub>O<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> lateral metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) lack a body diode, resulting in a high reverse turn-on voltage and significant reverse conduction loss, which limits practical applications. In this work, we report the experimental realization of a Ga<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub>O<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> lateral MOSFET with an integrated freewheeling diode (IFD). The proposed structure enables low-voltage reverse conduction without compromising forward performance or breakdown characteristics. The IFD MOSFET demonstrates a marked reduction in reverse turn-on voltage (−0.89 V), representing a 90%–94% decrease compared with conventional devices. Forward transfer and output characteristics remain comparable. Breakdown measurements yield a voltage of 2.5 kV with a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\text{20}~\mu $</tex-math> </inline-formula>m drift region. These results demonstrate the feasibility of integrating freewheeling diodes in Ga<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub>O<sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sub> MOSFETs, providing a practical pathway to low-loss and high-voltage power switching devices.