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arXiv · 2605.09108

Band alignment of grafted diamond/GaN p-n heterojunctions interfaced with ALD Al2O3 and SiNx/Al2O3

Tsung-Han Tsai·Chenyu Wang·Jiarui Gong·Xuanyu Zhou·Luke Suter·Aaron Hardy·Carolina Adamo·Yang Liu·Dong Liu·Connor S Bailey·Michael Eller·Stephanie Liu·Matthias Muehle·Jung-Hun Seo·Katherine Fountaine·Vincent Gambin·Zhenqiang Ma
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Abstract

Diamond and gallium nitride are complementary semiconductors for forming p-n junctions because of their respective doping limitations. Understanding the band alignment of grafted diamond/GaN heterojunctions is therefore essential for optimizing diode performance. In this study, the band alignment of diamond/Al2O3/GaN and diamond/Al2O3/SiNx/GaN heterostructures was determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Both structures exhibit type-II band alignment, but with different band offsets. The band offsets of the diamond/Al2O3/SiNx/GaN heterojunction are larger by 0.42 eV than those of diamond/Al2O3/GaN. This difference is attributed to a modification of the interfacial electrostatic potential, which may arise from a reduced density of positive fixed charges in the interfacial dielectric near the diamond/Al2O3 interface after insertion of the SiNx layer. These results demonstrate that interfacial-layer engineering provides an effective strategy for tailoring the band alignment of grafted diamond/GaN heterojunctions, offering guidance for the design of p-n diodes with tunable rectifying characteristics.

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Tsung-Han Tsai, Chenyu Wang, Jiarui Gong, Xuanyu Zhou, Luke Suter, Aaron Hardy, Carolina Adamo, Yang Liu, Dong Liu, Connor S Bailey, Michael Eller, Stephanie Liu, Matthias Muehle, Jung-Hun Seo, Katherine Fountaine, Vincent Gambin, Zhenqiang Ma. 2026-05-09. Band alignment of grafted diamond/GaN p-n heterojunctions interfaced with ALD Al2O3 and SiNx/Al2O3. https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.09108

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