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Effects of Different Defect Types on the Performance of Devices Fabricated on a 4H-SiC Homoepitaxial Layer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Hui Chen
Affiliation:
mibe_7@yahoo.com, Stony Brook University, Materials Science and Engineering, 100 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY, 11790, United States, 6316328501, 6316328052
Balaji Raghothamachar
Affiliation:
braghoth@notes.cc.sunysb.edu, Stony Brook University, Materials Science and Engineering, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2275, United States
William Vetter
Affiliation:
wvetter@ms.cc.sunysb.edu, Stony Brook University, Materials Science and Engineering, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2275, United States
Michael Dudley
Affiliation:
mdudley@note.cc.sunysb.edu, Stony Brook University, Materials Science and Engineering, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-2275, United States
Y. Wang
Affiliation:
wangyuasu@asu.edu, Arizona State University, Electrical Engineering, Tempe, AZ, 85287-5706, United States
B. J. Skromme
Affiliation:
Skromme@asu.edu, Arizona State University, Electrical Engineering, Tempe, AZ, 85287-5706, United States
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Abstract

An 8° off-axis 4H-SiC wafer with circular Schottky contacts fabricated on a CVD grown 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layer was studied to investigate the influence of various defects, including small (closed-core) screw dislocations (Burgers vector of 1c or 2c), hollow-core (micropipes; Burgers vector larger than 2c), threading edge dislocations (from conversion of basal plane dislocations from the substrate into the epilayer), grain boundaries and triangular defects, on the device performance in the form of breakdown voltages. The defects were examined using synchrotron white beam x-ray topography (SWBXT) based techniques and molten KOH etching. The devices commonly contained basal plane dislocations, small screw dislocations and threading edge dislocations, the latter two of which could give rise to low breakdown voltages for the devices. In addition, less commonly observed defects such as micropipes, grain boundaries and triangular defects are much more destructive to device performance than closed-core screw dislocations and threading edge dislocations.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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