GaN Schottky rectifiers employing guard-ring and SiO2 edge termination show almost ideal forward current characteristics, with ideality factor 1.08 and specific on-state resistance as low as 2.6 x 10(-3) Omega cm(2). A maximum forward current of 1.72 A at 6.28 V was achieved under pulsed (10% duty cycle) conditions. The reverse breakdown voltage was inversely dependent on rectifier area. The presence of defects in the GaN still dominates the reverse leakage, with both field emission and thermionic field emission contributions present. The parallel-plane breakdown voltage is never reached, even with the use of multiple edge termination methods, but the results show the promise of GaN rectifiers for power conditioning and electric utility applications. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.