Ultrawide-bandgap gallium oxide (Ga ₂ O ₃ ) devices have recently emerged as promising candidates for power electronics; however, the low thermal conductivity ( k _T ) of Ga ₂ O ₃ causes serious concerns about their electrothermal ruggedness. This letter presents the first experimental demonstrations of large-area Ga ₂ O ₃ Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) packaged in the bottom-side-cooling and double-side-cooling configurations, and for the first time, characterizes the surge current capabilities of these packaged Ga ₂ O ₃ SBDs. Contrary to popular belief, Ga ₂ O ₃ SBDs with proper packaging show high surge current capabilities. The double-side-cooled Ga ₂ O ₃ SBDs with a 3 × 3-mm ² Schottky contact area can sustain a peak surge current over 60 A, with a ratio between the peak surge current and the rated current superior to that of similarly-rated commercial SiC SBDs. The key enabling mechanisms for this high surge current are the small temperature dependence of on -resistance, which strongly reduces the thermal runaway, and the double-side-cooled packaging, in which the heat is extracted directly from the Schottky junction and does not need to go through the low- k _T bulk Ga ₂ O ₃ chip. These results remove some crucial concerns regarding the electrothermal ruggedness of Ga ₂ O ₃ power devices and manifest the significance of their die-level thermal management.

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