SiC bipolar degradation, which is caused by stacking fault expansion from basal plane dislocations in a SiC epitaxial layer or near the interface between the epitaxial layer and the substrate, is one of the critical problems inhibiting widespread usage of high-voltage SiC bipolar devices. In the present study, we investigated the stacking fault expansion behavior under UV illumination in a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer subjected to proton irradiation. X-ray topography observations revealed that proton irradiation suppressed stacking fault expansion. Excess carrier lifetime measurements showed that stacking fault expansion was suppressed in 4H-SiC epitaxial layers with proton irradiation at a fluence of 1 × 1011 cm−2 without evident reduction of the excess carrier lifetime. Furthermore, stacking fault expansion was also suppressed even after high-temperature annealing to recover the excess carrier lifetime. These results implied that passivation of dislocation cores by protons hinders recombination-enhanced dislocation glide motion under UV illumination.
Abstract4H-SiC has been commercialized as a material for power semiconductor devices. However, the long-term reliability of 4H-SiC devices is a barrier to their widespread application, and the most important reliability issue in 4H-SiC devices is bipolar degradation. This degradation is caused by the expansion of single Shockley stacking-faults (1SSFs) from basal plane dislocations in the 4H-SiC crystal. Here, we present a method for suppressing the 1SSF expansion by proton implantation on a 4H-SiC epitaxial wafer. PiN diodes fabricated on a proton-implanted wafer show current–voltage characteristics similar to those of PiN diodes without proton implantation. In contrast, the expansion of 1SSFs is effectively suppressed in PiN diodes with proton implantation. Therefore, proton implantation into 4H-SiC epitaxial wafers is an effective method for suppressing bipolar degradation in 4H-SiC power-semiconductor devices while maintaining device performance. This result contributes to the development of highly reliable 4H-SiC devices.
Bipolar degradation in SiC bipolar devices, in which stacking faults expand to accommodate the movement of partial dislocations during forward bias application, is one of the critical problems impeding the widespread implementation of SiC power devices. Here we clearly demonstrate that the movement of partial dislocations can be suppressed by proton implantation, which has good compatibility with semiconductor processing, through investigation of the contraction behavior of SFs in SiC epitaxial layers subjected to proton implantation.
4H-SiC has been commercialized as a material for power semiconductor devices. However, the long-term reliability of 4H-SiC devices is a barrier to their widespread application, and the most important reliability issue in 4H-SiC devices is bipolar degradation. This degradation is caused by the expansion of single Shockley stacking faults (1SSFs) from basal plane dislocations in the 4H-SiC crystal. Here, we present a method for suppressing the 1SSF expansion by proton implantation on a 4H-SiC epitaxial wafer. PiN diodes fabricated on a proton-implanted wafer show current–voltage characteristics similar to those of PiN diodes without proton implantation. In contrast, the expansion of 1SSFs is effectively suppressed in PiN diodes with proton implantation. Therefore, proton implantation into 4H-SiC epitaxial wafers is an effective method for suppressing bipolar degradation in 4H-SiC power-semiconductor devices while maintaining device performance. This result contributes to the development of highly reliable 4H-SiC devices.
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