Characterization of energy levels related to impurities in epitaxial 4H-SiC ion implanted p+n junctions

Abstract The distribution of energy levels within the bandgap of epitaxial 4H-SiC p + /n junctions was studied. The junction was obtained by Al ion implantation on a nitrogen doped n-type epitaxial substrate. Thermally stimulated currents/capacitance (TSC/TSCAP) as well as current/capacitance deep level transient spectroscopy (I- and C-DLTS) were carried out over a wide temperature range (20–400 K). The two TSC/DLTS peaks associated with N-doping were detected for the first time and their trap signatures determined. Two hole traps relating to deep and shallow boron confirm that a boron contamination occurred during crystal growth. A negligible concentration of the Z 1/2 level, which is usually the dominant level produced by irradiation of ion implant, was measured. The concentrations of all observed traps were significantly lower than nitrogen one, which determines the doping. This evidence supports the high quality of the processed junctions, making these devices particularly attractive for future use in particle detection as well as in optoelectronic applications

Ion Implanted Phosphorous for 4H-SiC VDMOSFETs Source Regions: Effect of the Post Implantation Annealing Time

Van der Pauw devices have been fabricated by double ion implantation processes, namely P+ and Al+ co-implantation. Similarly to the source area in a SiC VD-MOSFET, a 5 × 1018 cm-3 P plateau is formed on the top of a buried 3 × 1018 cm-3 Al distribution for electrical isolation from the n- epilayer. The post implantation annealing temperature was 1600 °C. Annealing times equal to 30 min and 300 min have been compared. The increase of the annealing time produces both an increase of electron density as well as electron mobility. For comparison a HPSI 4H-SiC wafer, 1×1020 cm-3 P+ ion implanted and 1700 °C annealed for 30 min was also characterized.ISSN:0255-5476ISSN:1662-975

Al+ Ion Implanted 4H-SiC Vertical p+-i-n Diodes: Processing Dependence of Leakage Currents and OCVD Carrier Lifetimes

The reverse and forward currents of Al+ ion implanted 4H-SiC p+-i-n diodes have been compared for identically processed devices except for the implanted Al concentration in the emitter, 6×1019 cm-3 against 2×1020 cm-3, and the post implantation annealing treatment, 1600°C/30 min and 1650°C/25 min against 1950°C/5min. The diodes’ ambipolar carrier lifetime, as obtained by open circuit voltage decay measurements, has been compared too. The devices with lower annealing temperature show lower leakage currents and higher ambipolar carrier lifetime; they also show lower current in ohmic conduction

Size effect on high temperature variable range hopping in Al+ implanted 4H-SiC

The hole transport properties of heavily doped 4H-SiC (Al) layers with Al implanted concentrations of 3 × 1020 and 5 × 1020 cm-3 and annealed in the temperature range 1950-2100 °C, have been analyzed to determine the main transport mechanisms. This study shows that the temperature dependence of the resistivity (conductivity) may be accounted for by a variable range hopping (VRH) transport into an impurity band. Depending on the concentration of the implanted impurities and the post-implantation annealing treatment, this VRH mechanism persists over different temperature ranges that may extend up to room temperature. In this framework, two different transport regimes are identified, having the characteristic of an isotropic 3D VRH and an anisotropic nearly 2D VRH. The latter conduction mechanism appears to take place in a rather thick layer (about 400 nm) that is too large to induce a confinement effect of the carrier hops. The possibility that an anisotropic transport may be induced by a structural modification of the implanted layer because of a high density of basal plane stacking faults (SF) in the implanted layers is considered. The interpretation of the conduction in the heaviest doped samples in terms of nearly 2D VRH is supported by the results of the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) investigation on one of the 5 × 1020 cm-3 Al implanted samples of this study. In this context, the average separation between basal plane SFs, measured along the c-axis, which is orthogonal to the carrier transport during electrical characterization, appears to be in keeping with the estimated value of the optimal hopping length of the VRH theory. Conversely, no SFs are detected by TEM in a sample with an Al concentration of 1 × 1019 cm-3 where a 3D nearest neighbor hopping (NNH) transport is observed