Basal plane dislocation conversion near the epilayer/substrate interface in epitaxial growth of 4° off-axis 4H–SiC

Site Specific TEM Specimen Preparation for Characterization of Extended Defects in 4H-SiC Epilayers

“…Recently, KOH etching of the substrate was reported to cause conversion of BPDs to electrically benign threading edge dislocations (TEDs) in the epilayer. However, for some BPDs this conversion was also associated with a shift in the locations of etch pits [3]. In this study, FIB and TEM are used to explain the nucleation mechanism of IGSFs and the previously observed shift in the locations of BPDs.…”

“…Naval Research Laboratory, Washington D.C., USA. 3. University of South Carolina, Department of Electrical Engineering, Columbia, USA.…”

Three-dimensional graphoepitaxial growth of oxide films by pulsed laser deposition

“…Deposition of epitaxial thin oxide films on substrates with inclination of surface orientation from the small-index crystallographic planes (SICPs)-the tilted-axes substrates (TAS), often also called "miscut" or "vicinal" substrates-is attracting more and more attention in the last decades as a simple way of preparation of quantum wires and quantum dots (see, e.g., [1]). Previously studies of oxide films deposition on TAS was usually pursuing the goal of improvement of the lattice perfection and surface smoothness due to change of the growth mechanism from 3D (Vollmer-Weber or Stransky-Krastanov modes) to the two-dimensional (2D) step-flow growth (see, for example, [2][3][4]). The reason for such a change is the surface structure of the TAS, representing a network of steps with terrace and edge surfaces oriented along the SICPs (see, e.g., [5]).…”

4H–SiC homoepitaxy on nearly on-axis substrates using TFS-towards high quality epitaxial growth

“…A majority of BPD's ~70-80% spontaneously convert to relatively benign threading edge dislocations (TEDs) during epitaxial growth [9,10]. Processes for successful elimination of BPDs (~99%) have been demonstrated for off-oriented substrates by the method of BPD-TED conversion [11] that relies on the exposure of the <0001> 4H-SiC basal plane (see equation 1 below) near the BPD by either KOH/Eutectic, or H 2 etching [12]. While these techniques are effective, they require multiple growths, etching and cleaning steps, adding complexity and cost to the epitaxial growth process.…”