Abstract
This article presents cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and molten-potassium hydroxide etching studies of (111) 3C-SiC diodes which we previously reported to be free of forward-voltage drift despite abundant electroluminescent linear features presumed to be defects. Our results show that the majority of linear features are stacking faults lying in inclined {111} planes. Additionally, high densities of isolated etch pits (106–108 cm−2) are observed in 3C films grown on stepped 4H mesas, while 3C films nucleated on step-free 4H mesas exhibited orders of magnitude fewer etch pits and stacking faults. Defect formation mechanisms whose impetuses are steps on the 4H-SiC pregrowth mesa are discussed.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mr. Henk Colijn (Ohio State University) for assistance with XTEM specimen lift-out. The help of Dr. Augustinas Galeckas (University of Oslo) also deserves sound recognition, and Dr. Robert Stahlbush’s (Naval Research Laboratory) contributions are humbly acknowledged as well. This work was funded by NASA GSRP fellowship Grant #04-HA03H.
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Speer, K.M., Neudeck, P.G., Spry, D.J. et al. Cross-sectional TEM and KOH-Etch Studies of Extended Defects in 3C-SiC p + n Junction Diodes Grown on 4H-SiC Mesas. J. Electron. Mater. 37, 672–680 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-007-0297-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-007-0297-z