Materials with good carrier mobilities are desired for device applications,
but in real devices the mobilities are usually limited by the presence of
interfaces and contacts. Mobility degradation at semiconductor-dielectric
interfaces is generally attributed to defects at the interface or inside the
dielectric, as is the case in Si/SiO2 structures, where processing does not
introduce detrimental defects in the semiconductor. In the case of SiC/SiO2
structures, a decade of research focused on reducing or passivating interface
and oxide defects, but the low mobilities have persisted. By invoking
theoretical results and available experimental evidence, we show that thermal
oxidation generates carbon di-interstitial defects inside the semiconductor
substrate and that they are a major cause of the poor mobility in SiC/SiO2
structures
