The forward voltage drop (Vf) increase observed in 4H-SiC bipolar devices such as pin diodes due to recombination-induced Shockley stacking fault (SSF) creation and expansion has been widely discussed in the literature. It was long believed that the deleterious affect of these defects was limited to bipolar devices. However, it was recently reported that forward biasing of the body diode of a 10kV 4H-SiC DMOSFET led to similar Vf increases in the body diode I-V curve as well as a corresponding degradation in the majority carrier conduction characteristics as well and this degradation was believed to be due to the creation and expansion of SSFs during the body diode forward biasing. Here we report measurements comparing the influence of similar stressing, along with annealing and current-induced recovery experiments in DMOSFETs and merged pin-Schottky diodes with the previously reported results of these experiments in 4H-SiC pin diodes. The results of these experiments provide sufficient support that the observed degradation in the majority carrier conduction characteristics is the result of SSF expansion.

Here we present optical beam induced current, electroluminescence, time resolved photoluminescence and current-voltage measurements on several 4H-SiC PiN diodes containing in-grown stacking faults (IGSFs). These defects were observed to act as either current shorts, creating a direct electrical contact between the p+ and n+ layers, or as a current barrier. Carrier lifetime measurements verify that the change in behavior is indeed associated with changes in the conductivity of the material in the vicinity of the defect and not due to local changes in the carrier lifetime. The IGSFs discussed here appear to differ from those previously discussed in the literature and may constitute a new, multi-layered IGSF.