【Others Papers】Proton-induced defects in β-Ga₂O₃: A deep dive into electronic structure, carrier mobility, and thermal conductivity

      Researchers from the Yangzhou University have published a dissertation titled "Proton-induced defects in β-Ga₂O₃: A deep dive into electronic structure, carrier mobility, and thermal conductivity" in Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing.

Abstract

      In recent years, β-Ga₂O₃ has demonstrated significant application potential in radiation environments such as aerospace due to its excellent physical properties. However, its damage behavior under high-energy proton irradiation requires further investigation. This study establishes structural models containing seven vacancy defects and systematically calculates defect formation energies and stabilities using density functional theory. Moreover, we analyze the effects of these defects on electronic structure, carrier mobility, and lattice thermal conductivity. The results indicate that high-energy proton irradiation primarily induces oxygen and gallium-oxygen complex vacancies. Among these, oxygen vacancies significantly reduce electron mobility, while gallium and gallium-oxygen complex vacancies decrease the bandgap. Polar optical phonon scattering is the dominant mechanism limiting carrier mobility of β-Ga₂O₃. All defects reduce thermal conductivity, with gallium and gallium-oxygen complex vacancies causing a more significant reduction. This study reveals the intrinsic connection between proton irradiation-induced defect types and the degradation of β-Ga₂O₃ material properties, providing theoretical foundations for radiation damage assessment of β-Ga₂O₃ based devices.

DOI：

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2025.110347