Ozone oxidation of 4H-SiC and flat-band voltage stability of SiC MOS capacitors

We investigate the effect of ozone (O₃) oxidation of silicon carbide (SiC) on the flat-band voltage (V_fb) stability of SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors. The SiC MOS capacitors are produced by O₃ oxidation, and their V_fb stability under frequency variation, temperature variation, and bias temperature stress are evaluated. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) indicate that O₃ oxidation can adjust the element distribution near SiC/SiO₂ interface, improve SiC/SiO₂ interface morphology, and inhibit the formation of near-interface defects, respectively. In addition, we elaborate the underlying mechanism through which O₃ oxidation improves the V_fb stability of SiC MOS capacitors by using the measurement results and O₃ oxidation kinetics.     

Passivation of carbon dimer defects in amorphous SiO_2/4H–SiC(0001) interface:A first-principles study

An amorphous SiO_2/4 H–Si C(0001) interface model with carbon dimer defects is established based on density functional theory of the first-principle plane wave pseudopotential method.The structures of carbon dimer defects after passivation by H_2 and NO molecules are established,and the interface states before and after passivation are calculated by the Heyd–Scuseria–Ernzerhof(HSE06) hybrid functional scheme.Calculation results indicate that H_2 can be adsorbed on the O_2–C = C–O_2 defect and the carbon–carbon double bond is converted into a single bond.However,H_2 cannot be adsorbed on the O_2–(C = C) –O_2 defect.The NO molecules can be bonded by N and C atoms to transform the carbon–carbon double bonds,thereby passivating the two defects.This study shows that the mechanism for the passivation of Si O_2/4 H–SiC(0001) interface carbon dimer defects is to convert the carbon–carbon double bonds into carbon dimers.Moreover,some intermediate structures that can be introduced into the interface state in the band gap should be avoided.