In this article, we investigate defect nucleation leading to device degradation in $\beta $ -Ga₂O₃ Schottky barrier diodes by operating them inside a transmission electron microscope. Such in situ approach allows simultaneous visualization and quantitative device characterization, not possible with the current art of postmortem microscopy. High current density and associated mechanical and thermal fields are shown to induce different types of crystal defects, from vacancy cluster and stacking fault to microcrack generation prior to failure. These structural defects can act as traps for carrier and cause device failure at high biasing voltage. Fundamental insights on nucleation of these defects and their evolution are important from materials reliability and device design perspectives.

中文翻译：

---

正偏条件下$β-Ga₂O₃肖特基二极管失效的原位观察

在本文中，我们研究了导致器件退化的缺陷成核 $\beta $ -Ga ₂ O ₃肖特基势垒二极管，通过在透射电子显微镜内操作它们。这样的就地这种方法允许同时进行可视化和定量设备表征，这在目前的验尸显微镜技术中是不可能的。高电流密度和相关的机械和热场被证明会诱发不同类型的晶体缺陷，从空位簇和堆垛层错到失效前的微裂纹产生。这些结构缺陷可以作为载流子的陷阱并在高偏置电压下导致器件故障。从材料可靠性和器件设计的角度来看，对这些缺陷的成核及其演变的基本见解非常重要。