Characterization of 4H-SiC substrates and epilayers by Fourier transform infrared reflectance spectroscopy

The infrared reflectance spectra of both 4H–SiC substrates and epilayers are measured in a wave number range from 400 cm 1 to 4000 cm 1 using a Fourier-transform spectrometer. The thicknesses of the 4H–SiC epilayers and the electrical properties, including the free-carrier concentrations and the mobilities of both the 4H–SiC substrates and the epilayers, are characterized through full line-shape fitting analyses. The correlations of the theoretical spectral profiles with the 4H–SiC electrical properties in the 30 cm 1 –4000 cm 1 and 400 cm 1 –4000 cm 1 spectral regions are established by introducing a parameter defined as error quadratic sum. It is indicated that their correlations become stronger at a higher carrier concentration and in a wider spectral region (30 cm 1 –4000 cm 1 ). These results suggest that the infrared reflectance technique can be used to accurately determine the thicknesses of the epilayers and the carrier concentrations, and the mobilities of both lightly and heavily doped 4H–SiC wafers.     

High-performance 4H-SiC junction barrier Schottky diodes with double resistive termination extensions

4H-SiC junction barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes with a high-temperature annealed resistive termination extension (HARTE) are designed, fabricated and characterized in this work. The differential specific on-state resistance of the device is as low as 3.64 m ·cm2 with a total active area of 2.46×10-3 cm2 . Ti is the Schottky contact metal with a Schottky barrier height of 1.08 V and a low onset voltage of 0.7V. The ideality factor is calculated to be 1.06. Al implantation annealing is performed at 1250℃ in Ar, while good reverse characteristics are achieved. The maximum breakdown voltage is 1000 V with a leakage current of 9×10-5 A on chip level. These experimental results show good consistence with the simulation results and demonstrate that high-performance 4H-SiC JBS diodes can be obtained based on the double HARTE structure.     

Determination of the transport properties in 4H-SiC wafers by Raman scattering measurement

The free carrier density and mobility in n-type 4H-SiC substrates and epilayers were determined by accurately analysing the frequency shift and the full-shape of the longitudinal optic phonon--plasmon coupled (LOPC) modes, and compared with those determined by Hall-effect measurement and that provided by the vendors. The transport properties of thick and thin 4H-SiC epilayers grown in both vertical and horizontal reactors were also studied. The free carrier density ranges between 2×10¹⁸ cm^-3 and 8×10¹⁸ cm^-3 with a carrier mobility of 30--55 cm²/(V·s) for n-type 4H-SiC substrates and 1×10¹⁶--3×10¹⁶ cm^-3 with mobility of 290--490 cm²/(V·s) for both thick and thin 4H-SiC epilayers grown in a horizontal reactor, while thick 4H-SiC epilayers grown in vertical reactor have a slightly higher carrier concentration of around 8.1×10¹⁶ cm^-3 with mobility of 380 cm²/(V·s). It was shown that Raman spectroscopy is a potential technique for determining the transport properties of 4H-SiC wafers with the advantage of being able to probe very small volumes and also being non-destructive. This is especially useful for future mass production of 4H-SiC epi-wafers.     

Surface saturation control on the formation of wurtzite polytypes in zinc blende SiC nanofilms grown on Si-（100） substrates

We investigate the formations of wurtzite （WZ） SiC nano polytypes in zinc blende （ZB） SiC nanofilms hetero-grown on Si-（100） substrates via low pressure chemical vapor deposition （LPCVD） by adjusting the Si/C ratio of the introduced precursors. Through SEM, TEM, and Raman characterizations, we find that the nanofilms consist of discrete WZ SiC nano polytypes and ZB SiC polytypes composed of WZ polytypes （WZ ＋ ZB） and disordered ZB SiC polytypes, respectively, according to Si/C ratios of 0.5, 1.5, and 3. We attribute the WZ polytype formation to being due to a kinetic mechanism based on the Si/C surface saturation control.     

Passivation effects of phosphorus on 4H-SiC(0001) Si dangling bonds: A first-principles study

The effect of phosphorus passivation on 4H-SiC(0001) silicon(Si) dangling bonds is investigated using ab initio atomistic thermodynamic calculations. Phosphorus passivation commences with chemisorption of phosphorus atoms at high-symmetry coordinated sites. To determine the most stable structure during the passivation process of phosphorus, a surface phase diagram of phosphorus adsorption on SiC(0001) surface is constructed over a coverage range of 1/9–1 monolayer(ML). The calculated results indicate that the 1/3 ML configuration is most energetically favorable in a reasonable environment. At this coverage, the total electron density of states demonstrates that phosphorus may effectively reduce the interface state density near the conduction band by removing 4H-SiC(0001) Si dangling bonds. It provides an atomic level insight into how phosphorus is able to reduce the near interface traps.