Suppression of stacking-fault expansion in 4H-SiC diodes by helium implantation

Abstract

Bipolar degradation is a critical problem in SiC devices, caused by the expansion of single Shockley stacking faults (1SSFs) from basal plane dislocations. This paper presents the effects of helium implantation on the suppression of 1SSFs expansion. The fabricated PiN diodes were analyzed using current-voltage characteristics and electroluminescence imaging. The results show that helium implantation can effectively suppress 1SSFs expansion without significantly degrading diode performance. We consider that this suppression is due to the pinning of dislocations by point defects introduced during helium implantation, and the reduction of carrier lifetime may also play a role in suppressing 1SSFs expansion.