Defect reduction in SiC epilayers by different substrate cleaning methods

Baierhofer, Daniel; Thomas, Bernd; Staiger, F.; Marchetti, Barbara; Förster, Ch.; Erlbacher, Tobias

doi:10.1016/j.mssp.2021.106414

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…It has been found that increasing the growth rate, inserting a N-doped buffer layer, and high-temperature growth interruptions are beneficial for increasing the conversion ratio of BPDs [101][102][103]. The pre-growth treatment of 4H-SiC substrates, such as optimizing the cleaning procedure, molten-alkali etching and lithographic patterning, also promotes the conversion of BPDs to TEDs [104][105][106].…”

Section: Evolution Of Dislocations During the Homoepitaxy Of 4h-sicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dislocations in 4H silicon carbide

Li¹,

Zhang²,

Liu³

et al. 2022

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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Owning to the superior properties of the wide bandgap, high carrier mobility, high thermal conductivity and high stability, 4H silicon carbide (4H-SiC) holds great promise for the applications of electrical vehicles, 5G communications and new-energy systems. Although the industrialization of 150 mm 4H-SiC substrates and epitaxial layers has been successfully achieved, the existence of high density of dislocations is one of the most important bottlenecks for advancing the device performance and reliability of 4H-SiC based high-power and high-frequency electronics. In this topical review, the classification and basic properties of dislocations in 4H-SiC wafers and epitaxial layers are introduced. The generation, evolution and annihilation of dislocations during the single-crystals growth of 4H-SiC boules, the processing of 4H-SiC wafers, as well as the homoepitaxy of 4H-SiC layers are systematically reviewed. The characterization and discrimination of dislocations in 4H-SiC are presented. The effect of dislocations on the electronic and optical properties of 4H-SiC wafers and epitaxial layers, as well as the role of dislocations on the device performance and reliability are finally presented. This topical review provides insight into the fundamentals and evolution of dislocations in 4H-SiC, and is expected to provide inspiration for further manipulation of dislocations in 4H-SiC.

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Section: Evolution Of Dislocations During the Homoepitaxy Of 4h-sicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dislocations in 4H silicon carbide

Li¹,

Zhang²,

Liu³

et al. 2022

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

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“…A silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal is a typical representative of the third generation of wide band gap semiconductor material with the advantages of large band gap, high breakdown field, high thermal conductivity, high electron saturation velocity, high temperature stability and low dielectric losses. [1][2][3][4][5] The outstanding physical properties of SiC make it suitable for producing high-temperature, high-frequency and high-power devices, and it is becoming a new strategic focus of the global semiconductor industry. [6][7][8] In the past few decades, much effort has been devoted to achieving large-size, high-quality single crystals of SiC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of reflection anisotropy induced by micropipe defects on the surface of a 4H-SiC single crystal using scanning anisotropy microscopy

Huang 黄,

Yu 俞,

Liu 刘

et al. 2024

Chinese Phys. B

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Optical reflection anisotropy microscopy mappings of micropipe defects on the surface of 4H-SiC single crystal are studied by the scanning anisotropy microscopy (SAM) system. The reflection anisotropy (RA) image with ”butterfly pattern” is obtained around the micropipes by SAM. The RA image of the edge dislocations is theoretically simulated based on dislocation theory and photoelastic principle. By comparing with the Raman spectrum, it is verified that the micropipes consist of edge dislocations. The different patterns of the RA images are due to the different orientations of the Burgers vectors. Besides, the strain distribution of the micropipes is also deduced. One can identify the dislocation type, direction of the Burgers vector and the optical anisotropy from the RA image by using SAM. Therefore, the SAM is an ideal tool to measure the optical anisotropy induced by strain field around the defect.

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“…The main destructive defects are instant surface dislocation (BPD) defects and stacking faults (SF), which are likely to continuously increase the on-resistance of bipolar devices [ 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Surface defects, such as dump, scratch, particle, downfall (DF), triangle (TD), comet and carrot defects, are typically detrimental and easily observable, and often lead to device failure [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Growth Process on Suppression of Surface Morphological Defects in 4H-SiC Homoepitaxial Layers

Pei,

Yuan,

et al. 2024

Micromachines

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To address surface morphological defects that have a destructive effect on the epitaxial wafer from the aspect of 4H-SiC epitaxial growth, this study thoroughly examined many key factors that affect the density of defects in 4H-SiC epitaxial wafer, including the ratio of carbon to silicon, growth time, application of a buffer layer, hydrogen etching and other process parameters. Through systematic experimental verification and data analysis, it was verified that when the carbon–silicon ratio was accurately controlled at 0.72, the density of defects in the epitaxial wafer was the lowest, and its surface flatness showed the best state. In addition, it was found that the growth of the buffer layer under specific conditions could effectively reduce defects, especially surface morphology defects. This provides a new idea and method for improving the surface quality of epitaxial wafers. At the same time, we also studied the influence of hydrogen etching on the quality of epitaxial wafers. The experimental results show that proper hydrogen etching can optimize surface quality, but excessive etching may lead to the exposure of substrate defects. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully control the conditions of hydrogen etching in practical applications to avoid adverse effects. These findings have important guiding significance for optimizing the quality of epitaxial wafers.

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Defect reduction in SiC epilayers by different substrate cleaning methods

Cited by 9 publications

References 11 publications

Dislocations in 4H silicon carbide

Dislocations in 4H silicon carbide

Investigation of reflection anisotropy induced by micropipe defects on the surface of a 4H-SiC single crystal using scanning anisotropy microscopy

Influence of Growth Process on Suppression of Surface Morphological Defects in 4H-SiC Homoepitaxial Layers

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