Electric field dependence of nanoscale cathodoluminescence inside Cr doped β-Ga2O3 interfaces

Abstract

Chromium (Cr) is a common impurity in β-Ga2O3 crystals, where its characteristic R1 and R2 luminescence lines are susceptible to both the host crystal field and externally applied fields. In this work, we demonstrate that the Cr cathodoluminescence (CL) quenches toward the bulk of the crystal but enhances with applied reverse bias, reflecting the effect of free carrier depletion with increasing electric field. Furthermore, we illustrate that the R1/R2 CL intensity ratio, measured as the integrated area ratio of R1 to R2, can be used as a direct probe of the electric field in a Ni-β-Ga2O3:Cr Schottky diode. This optical calibration method provides a complementary approach to conventional C–V and I–V measurements for determining electric field strength in the depletion region of β-Ga2O3-based Schottky diodes and can be extended to other semiconductors and multilayer device structures.