We demonstrated a prototype Gated Lateral power bipolar junction transistor (GLP-BJT) on wide bandgap semiconductor. The device combined the intrinsic advantages of high current gain of a Gated Lateral-BJT and good current handling and voltage blocking capabilities of GaN material. As a result, the common-emitter current gain remained over 300 at a high collector current density of 2 kA/cm2 despite a wide p-base region of 2µm. The open base breakdown voltage BVCEO was over 300 V corresponding to a high critical field of 2.5 MV/cm. These figures of merit show great promise of GaN-based GLP-BJT in power applications and also shed light on the development of state-of-the-art bipolar transistors based on other wide bandgap semiconductors.

We have demonstrated non-polar GaN power diodes (Schottky barrier diode and p–n junction diode) on foreign substrates featuring the true-lateral p–n and metal–semiconductor junctions. The diodes were fabricated on GaN islands laterally overgrown on the mask-patterned sapphire and Si substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The anode and cathode were formed on the opposed a-plane sidewalls of the island, making the device architecture essentially like the 90° rotation of the desired true-vertical power diodes. The ideality factor of the Schottky barrier diode remained 1.0 (from 1.00 to 1.05) over 7 decades in current. Specifically, a high critical electric field of 3.3 MV/cm was demonstrated on the p–n junction diode with avalanche capability. These performances reveal a strong potential of non-polar GaN with the true-lateral junctions for high power applications.