Protection circuit including vertical gallium nitride schottky diode and PN junction diode

摘要

A circuit includes a vertical conduction gallium nitride-based Schottky diode and a vertical conduction silicon based PN junction diode connected in parallel. The Schottky diode and the PN junction diode are packaged in the same semiconductor package and the PN junction diode does not conduct in response to the Schottky diode being forward biased. In some embodiments, the silicon based PN junction diode has a breakdown voltage lower than a breakdown voltage of the gallium nitride-based Schottky diode. The silicon based PN junction diode enters breakdown in response to the gallium nitride-based Schottky diode being reverse biased to divert a reverse bias avalanche current away from the gallium nitride-based Schottky diode.