No abstract

The populations and propagation behaviors of pure and mixed threading screw dislocations (TSDs) in physical vapor transport (PVT) grown 4H-SiC crystals were investigated using X-ray topography. The X-ray topography studies revealed that mixed TSDs, which have a Burgers vector component within the basal plane in addition to the c-component, were dominant in PVT-grown 4H-SiC crystals, even though they have a higher energy contained in the elastic field around them compared to pure TSDs. The studies also revealed that mixed TSDs tended to propagate in a specific direction inclined from the c-axis, whereas pure TSDs were often converted into helical dislocations during the PVT growth. Based on these results, we discussed the nature and propagation behavior of pure and mixed TSDs in PVT-grown 4H-SiC crystals and suggested an importance of the interaction between TSDs and point defects during PVT growth of 4H-SiC.

The influence of the facet trace region in the 4H-SiC substrate on the glide and propagation behaviors of basal plane dislocations (BPDs) in a 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layer was investigated using x-ray topography, high-resolution x-ray diffraction, and micro-Raman scattering spectroscopy. The facet trace region in the substrate, which has a higher nitrogen doping concentration than the other regions in the substrate, is of great interest since it could influence the glide and propagation behaviors of BPDs during 4H-SiC homoepitaxial growth through enhanced nitrogen doping concentration in the region. It was found that the epitaxial layer grown on the facet trace region in the substrate significantly suppressed glide motion of BPDs and exhibited a reduced conversion probability of BPDs to threading edge dislocations during the homoepitaxial growth process. Based on these results, the mechanisms that the epilayer grown on a substrate region with a slightly higher nitrogen concentration showed significantly different glide and propagation behaviors of BPDs are discussed.