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Microstructural Aspects and Mechanism of Degradation of 4H-SiC PiN Diodes under Forward Biasing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

Pirouz Pirouz ,
Ming Zhang ,
Augustinas Galeckas  and
Jan Linnros
Pirouz Pirouz
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-7204, U.S.A. (pxp7@cwru.edu)
Ming Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-7204, U.S.A. (pxp7@cwru.edu)
Augustinas Galeckas
Affiliation:
Department of Microelectronics and Information Technology, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), SE 16440 Stockholm-Kista, Sweden
Jan Linnros
Affiliation:
Department of Microelectronics and Information Technology, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), SE 16440 Stockholm-Kista, Sweden
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Abstract

Devices fabricated from the wide bandgap semiconductor SiC have many advantages over those made from conventional semiconductors. Thus, performance characteristics of some 4H-SiC devices can be two orders of magnitude better than equivalent devices made from silicon. On the other hand, new and unexpected problems have emerged with the operation of some SiC devices that need to be understood and solved before further progress can be made in this area. One of the most intriguing problems has been the degradation of bipolar PiN diodes that have major advantages over unipolar Schottky barrier diodes at high blocking voltages. The electrical degradation of the PiN diodes refers to a drop in voltage under extended forward current operation. The degradation appears to be associated with the appearance of stacking faults (SFs) in the entire base region of the diode. In this paper, we discuss some puzzling aspects of stacking fault formation in such diodes. Electroluminescence as well as TEM has been used to investigate the degradation problem and, based on experimental results, the formation of stacking faults within the device, possible sources of partial dislocations responsible for the stacking faults, and the enhanced motion of dislocations under forward biasing are considered.

Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 815 , 2004 , J6.1
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2004

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