Transition layers at the SiO2∕SiC interface

Zheleva, T.; Lelis, Aivars J.; Duscher, Gerd; Liu, Fude; Levin, Igor; Das, Mrinal K.

doi:10.1063/1.2949081

Cited by 157 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

112

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Going from SiC to SiO 2 across the interface, the C/Si (O/Si) ratio decreases (increases) gradually without any observable enrichment in any of the elements. In particular, no C-rich area is detected in the SiC or in the bulk SiO 2 as it was previously reported [3][4][5][6][7] . From these profiles, a region of continuously varying composition including the three elements (Si, C and O) named transition layer (TL)…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

“…This degradation was related to electrically active defects at the SiC/SiO 2 interface, such as C clusters [3,4] and/or changes in the C/Si ratio across the SiC/SiO 2 interface. They were observed by different transmission and scanning transmission electron microscopy (TEM and STEM, respectively) techniques, such as high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Z-contrast imaging [5,6] and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) [7]. On the other hand, these compositional variations were not observed in later works.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…The APT investigations were 5 performed using a CAMECA LAWATAP instrument with an amplified ytterbium-doped laser at a wavelength of 343 nm with an energy of 25 nJ/pulse, a 350 fs pulse duration, spot size of 0.3 mm, and 100 kHz repetition rate. A very high probability of tip fracture during evaporation at the poly-Si/SiO 2 interface was observed due to the fact that SiO 2 and SiC phases have a very high field of evaporation as compared to Si.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Atomic scale characterization of SiO2/4H-SiC interfaces in MOSFETs devices

Beltrán

Duguay

Strenger

et al. 2015

Solid State Communications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The breakthrough of 4H-SiC MOSFETs is stemmed mainly due to the mobility degradation in their channel in spite of the good physical intrinsic material properties. Here, two different n-channel 4H-SiC MOSFETs are characterized in order to analyze the elemental composition at the SiC/SiO 2 interface and its relationship to their electrical properties.Elemental distribution analyses performed by EELS reveal the existence of a transition layer between the SiC and the SiO 2 regions of the same width for both MOSFETs despite a factor of nearly two between their electron mobility. Additional 3D compositional mapping by atom probe tomography corroborates these results, particularly the absence of an anomalous carbon distribution around the SiC/SiO 2 interface.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 90%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Atomic scale characterization of SiO2/4H-SiC interfaces in MOSFETs devices

Beltrán

Duguay

Strenger

et al. 2015

Solid State Communications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Recently, high-resolution TEM, Z-contrast scanning TEM, and spatially resolved EELS studies have revealed a transition layer (∼3 nm) at the interface due to the formation of a ternary Si-C-O phase. [34][35][36] The results indicated that the presence of a transition layer at the SiO 2 /SiC interface could lead to the mobility degradation. On the contrary, Watanabe et al suggested that an interfacial transition layer should be ruled out as a cause of electrical degradation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Structural and electronic properties of the transition layer at the SiO2/4H-SiC interface

Zhao

Wang

2015

AIP Advances

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Using first-principles methods, we generate an amorphous SiO2/4H-SiC interface with a transition layer. Based this interface model, we investigate the structural and electronic properties of the interfacial transition layer. The calculated Si 2p core-level shifts for this interface are comparable to the experimental data, indicating that various SiCxOy species should be present in this interface transition layer. The analysis of the electronic structures reveals that the tetrahedral SiCxOy structures cannot introduce any of the defect states at the interface. Interestingly, our transition layer also includes a C-C=C trimer and SiO5 configurations, which lead to the generation of interface states. The accurate positions of Kohn-Sham energy levels associated with these defects are further calculated within the hybrid functional scheme. The Kohn-Sham energy levels of the carbon trimer and SiO5 configurations are located near the conduction and valence band of bulk 4H-SiC, respectively. The result indicates that the carbon trimer occurred in the transition layer may be a possible origin of near interface traps. These findings provide novel insight into the structural and electronic properties of the realistic SiO2/SiC interface.

show abstract

“…Recent works by Zheleva et al [ 130 ] and by Biggerstaff et al [ 131 ], based on a nanoscale characterization using high resolution TEM and EELS, definitively correlated the existence of a "transition layer" on both sides of the SiO 2 /SiC interface with the electrical properties of the SiO 2 /SiC interface. In particular, the structural degradation (amorphization) observed in the top few atomic layers of SiC and the presence of this interfacial transition region was associated to changes in the SiO 2 and SiC stoichiometry.…”

Section: Interface Transport Properties In the Sio 2 /Sic Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanoscale transport properties at silicon carbide interfaces

Roccaforte¹,

Giannazzo²,

Raineri³

2010

J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Wide band gap semiconductors promise devices with performances not achievable using silicon technology. Among them, Silicon Carbide (SiC) is considered the top-notch material for a new generation of power electronic devices, ensuring the improved energy efficiency requested in the modern society. In spite of the significant progresses achieved in the last decade in the material quality, there are still several scientific open issues related to the basic transport properties at SiC interfaces and ion-doped regions that can affect the devices performances, keeping them still far from their theoretical limits. Hence, significant efforts in fundamental research at nanoscale have become mandatory to better understand the carrier transport phenomena, both at surfaces and interfaces. In this paper, the most recent experiences on nanoscale transport properties will be addressed, reviewing the relevant key points for the basic devices building blocks. The selected topics include the major concerns related to the electronic transport in metal/SiC interfaces, to the carrier concentration and mobility in ion-doped regions, and to channel mobility in metal/oxide/SiC systems. Some aspects related to interfaces between different SiC polytypes are also presented. All these issues will be discussed considering the current status and the drawbacks of SiC devices.

show abstract

Transition layers at the SiO2∕SiC interface

Cited by 157 publications

References 18 publications

Atomic scale characterization of SiO2/4H-SiC interfaces in MOSFETs devices

Atomic scale characterization of SiO2/4H-SiC interfaces in MOSFETs devices

Structural and electronic properties of the transition layer at the SiO2/4H-SiC interface

Nanoscale transport properties at silicon carbide interfaces

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About