Electron-beam-induced current study of stacking faults and partial dislocations in 4H-SiC Schottky diode

Abstract

Electrical properties of stacking faults and bounding partial dislocations in 4H-SiC Schottky diode were investigated by using electron-beam-induced current ͑EBIC͒ and cathodoluminescence ͑CL͒ techniques. EBIC images show that basal plane dislocation is easily dissociated into two partial dislocations ͓Si ͑g͒ 30°and C ͑g͒ 30°partials͔, with a stacking fault between them. The EBIC contrast of C ͑g͒ 30°partial is always several percent higher than that of Si ͑g͒ 30°partial. The stacking fault is brighter than the background, having the negative EBIC contrast. CL spectrum shows that a new peak ͑417 nm͒ appears at stacking fault position. The origin of bright stacking fault in EBIC image is discussed according to its quantum-well state.

Electrical and Optical Properties of Stacking Faults in 4H-SiC Devices

“…It has been found that stacking faults (SFs) are easily created and developed in 4H-SiC devices during forward-bias stressing 3,4 or electron-beam (e-beam) irradiation. [5][6][7] Formation and subsequent development of SFs in the active region of devices could be a reason for their degradation. 8,9 Therefore, the study of SFs has received considerable attention from both the applied and fundamental research communities.…”

Structures and Local Electronic States of Dislocation Loop in 4H-SiC via a Linear-Scaling Tight-Binding Study

“…The periodic boundary condition is applied to the system simulated. In the defect structure proposed from the EBIC and CL experiments, 5,6) …”

“…4,5) Recently, Electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) and cathodoluminescence (CL) study on 4H-SiC have shown that BPDs are easily dissociated into two partial dislocations with a SF between them under the electron-beam irradiation. 6) In this paper, we report a study on the atomic-and electronic-structure of a dislocation loop and a stacking fault in 4H-SiC. We focus on the local atomic structure similar to that reported in the aforementioned experiment and investigate by using large-scale tight-binding (TB) moleculardynamics simulation.…”

Comparison of dislocation behavior in Si‐ and C‐face 4H‐SiC

“…Dislocation behavior has been extensively studied in Si-face 4H-SiC over a number of years [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. It is known that basal plane dislocations (BPDs) show the highest recombination strength [3], and under forward bias stressing or electron-beam (ebeam) irradiation the BPDs can easily dissociate into partial dislocations with the formation of stacking faults (SFs) inside [1,4,5]. It is shown that C-core partial is immobile, while Si-core partial is mobile that causes the expansion of the SFs [9,10].…”