Status and Prospects of Cubic Silicon Carbide Power Electronics Device Technology

Abstract

Wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductors are becoming more widely accepted for use in power electronics due to their superior electrical energy efficiencies and improved power densities. Although WBG cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) displays a modest bandgap compared to its commercial counterparts (4H-silicon carbide and gallium nitride), this material has excellent attributes as the WBG semiconductor of choice for low-resistance, reliable diode and MOS devices. At present the material remains firmly in the research domain due to numerous technological impediments that hamper its widespread adoption. The most obvious obstacle is defect-free 3C-SiC; presently, 3C-SiC bulk and heteroepitaxial (on-silicon) display high defect densities such as stacking faults and antiphase boundaries. Moreover, heteroepitaxy 3C-SiC-on-silicon means low temperature processing budgets are imposed upon the system (max. temperature limited to ~1400 °C) limiting selective doping realisation. This paper will give a brief overview of some of the scientific aspects associated with 3C-SiC processing technology in addition to focussing on the latest state of the art results. A particular focus will be placed upon key process steps such as Schottky and ohmic contacts, ion implantation and MOS processing including reliability. Finally, the paper will discuss some device prototypes (diodes and MOSFET) and draw conclusions around the prospects for 3C-SiC devices based upon the processing technology presented.

Impact of Nitrogen on the Selective Closure of Stacking Faults in 3C-SiC

“…Emerging wide band gap (WBG) semiconductor devices based on silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) can revolutionize power electronics due to their extraordinary properties compared to standard silicon-based devices. In particular, 3C-SiC can find application not only in power electronics , but also in new emerging fields, such as photocatalysis, water splitting, and biological applications …”

“…Emerging wide band gap (WBG) semiconductor devices based on silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) can revolutionize power electronics due to their extraordinary properties 1 compared to standard silicon-based devices. In particular, 3C-SiC can find application not only in power electronics 2,3 but also in new emerging fields, such as photocatalysis, 4 water splitting, 5 and biological applications. 6 However, despite the promising properties, the problem of 3C-SiC heteroepitaxy on silicon has not yet been resolved and its use in microelectronics is limited by the presence of extensive defects.…”

Mechanical Load-Induced Atomic-Scale Deformation Evolution and Mechanism of SiC Polytypes Using Molecular Dynamics Simulation

“…Silicon carbide (SiC) is a typical representative of the wide band-gap semiconductor material, which is also known as a third-generation semiconductor material. It has a high breakdown electric field, high thermal conductivity, high saturation electron velocity, and high radiation resistance [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. It is an important material for substrate and epitaxial in wafers.…”

Nanostructured 3C-SiC on Si by a network of (111) platelets: a fully textured film generated by intrinsic growth anisotropy

“…2,3 However, the presence of multiple stacking faults (SFs) and anti-phase boundaries (APBs) is still hindering the realization of efficient power devices. 4,5,6 In particular, SFs are present at the surface of a film, as thick as some tens of µm, at a linear density of several 10 3 cm -1 : despite that the leakage of current in reverse bias appears to be larger in the case of APBs, 7 such a density is still one order of magnitude larger than that required for device manufacturing. In a recent first principles calculation of the stability of SiC polytypes, including van der Waals corrections and the entropic contribution to the free energy by the different phonon densities, 8 we explained the experimentally observed increased stability of 3C-SiC grown at lower temperatures, and the corresponding increase of SF formation energy, particularly for SFs involving two or three atomic planes.…”

“…2,3 However, the presence of multiple stacking faults (SFs) and anti-phase boundaries (APBs) still hinders the realization of efficient power devices. [4][5][6] In particular, SFs are present on the surface of a film, as thick as some tens of mm, at a linear density of several 10 3 cm À1 ; despite that the leakage of current in reverse bias appears to be larger in the case of APBs, 7 such a density is still one order of magnitude larger than that required for device manufacturing.…”