Silicon carbide (SiC), a material long known with potential for high-temperature, high-power, high-frequency, and radiation hardened applications, has emerged as the most mature of the wide-bandgap (2.0 eV ≲ Eg ≲ 7.0 eV) semiconductors since the release of commercial 6HSiC bulk substrates in 1991 and 4HSiC substrates in 1994. Following a brief introduction to SiC material properties, the status of SiC in terms of bulk crystal growth, unit device fabrication processes, device performance, circuits and sensors is discussed. Emphasis is placed upon demonstrated high-temperature applications, such as power transistors and rectifiers, turbine engine combustion monitoring, temperature sensors, analog and digital circuitry, flame detectors, and accelerometers. While individual device performances have been impressive (e.g. 4HSiC MESFETs with fmax of 42 GHz and over 2.8 W mm−1 power density; 4HSiC static induction transistors with 225 W power output at 600 MHz, 47% power added efficiency (PAE), and 200 V forward blocking voltage), material defects in SiC, in particular micropipe defects, remain the primary impediment to wide-spread application in commercial markets. Micropipe defect densities have been reduced from near the 1000 cm−2 order of magnitude in 1992 to 3.5 cm−2 at the research level in 1995.

Status of silicon carbide (SiC) as a wide-bandgap semiconductor for high-temperature applications: A review

Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of silicon carbide (SiC) onto SiC{0001} substrates and its device applications are reviewed. Polytype-controlled epitaxial growth of SiC, which utilizes step-flow growth on off-oriented SiC{0001} substrates (step-controlled epitaxy), is proposed, and the detailed growth mechanism is discussed. In step-controlled epitaxy, SiC growth is controlled by the diffusion of reactants in a stagnant layer. Critical growth conditions where the growth mode changes from step-flow to two-dimensional nucleation are predicted as a function of growth conditions using a model describing SiC growth on vicinal {0001} substrates. Step bunching on the surfaces of SiC epilayers, nucleation, and step-dynamics are also investigated. The high quality of SiC epilayers was elucidated through low-temperature photoluminescence, Hall effect, and deep level measurements. Excellent doping controllability over a wide range was obtained by in situ doping of a nitrogen donor and aluminum/boron acceptors. Recent progress in SiC device fabrication using step-controlled epitaxial layers is presented. The intrinsic potential of SiC is demonstrated in the excellent performance of high-power, high-frequency, and high-temperature devices, which will develop novel electronics.

Step-controlled epitaxial growth of SiC: High quality homoepitaxy

In recent years, silicon carbide has received increased attention because of its potential for high-power devices. The unique material properties of SiC, high electric breakdown field, high saturated electron drift velocity, and high thermal conductivity are what give this material its tremendous potential in the power device arena. 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes (1400 V) with forward current densities over 700 A/cm/sup 2/ at 2 V have been demonstrated. Packaged SITs have produced 57 W of output power at 500 MHz, SiC UMOSFETs (1200 V) are projected to have 15 times the current density of Si IGBTs (1200 V). Submicron gate length 4H-SiC MESFETs have achieved f/sub max/=32 GHz, f/sub T/=14.0 GHz, and power density=2.8 W/mm @ 1.8 GHz. The performances of a wide variety of SiC devices are compared to that of similar Si and GaAs devices and to theoretically expected results.

Silicon carbide high-power devices

Effects of surface defects on performance of kV-class 4H- and 6H-SiC epitaxial p-n junction diodes were investigated. The perimeter recombination and generation, instead of the bulk process, are responsible for forward recombination current and reverse leakage current of the diodes, respectively. Mapping studies of surface morphological defects have revealed that triangular-shaped defects severely degrade high-blocking capability of the diodes whereas shallow round pits and scratch give no direct impact. Device-killing defects in SiC epilayers are discussed based on breakdown voltage mapping. Effective minority carrier lifetimes are mainly limited not by bulk recombination but by perimeter recombination.

/pdf/performance-limiting-surface-defects-in-sic-epitaxial-p-n-3dineadkl9.pdf

Performance limiting surface defects in SiC epitaxial p-n junction diodes

A photoemission investigation using synchrotron radiation of the (0001) surface of 6H-SiC is reported. The studies were concentrated on the $\sqrt{3}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}$\sqrt{3}$-R30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} and 6$\sqrt{3}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}6$\sqrt{3}$-R30\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} reconstructed surfaces, but results from the chemically prepared unreconstructed 1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 surface are also presented. Core-level and valence-band spectra recorded from the 1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 surface show strong oxygen derived features. For the $\sqrt{3}$ and 6$\sqrt{3}$ reconstructed surfaces, which were prepared by heating the 1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1 surface to temperatures of ca. 950 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C and 1150 \ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C, respectively, no oxygen derived features are detected. The core-level and valence-band spectra are found to be significantly different on these reconstructed surfaces. Recorded high-resolution core-level spectra reveal unambiguously the presence of surface shifted components in both the Si 2p and C 1s core levels on the reconstructed surfaces. For the $\sqrt{3}$ reconstruction, two surface shifted components are observed both in the Si 2p and C 1s level. These findings cannot be explained by a structural model composed of Si or C adatoms on top of a Si-C bilayer. For the 6$\sqrt{3}$ reconstruction, the surface region is found to contain a considerably larger amount of carbon. This carbon is found not to be graphitic, since surface shifted C 1s components with binding energies different from the graphitic C 1s peak are observed. Clear evidence of graphitization is revealed only after heating to a higher temperature than that required for observing a well-developed 6$\sqrt{3}$ diffraction pattern. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

High-resolution core-level study of 6H-SiC(0001).

Reactive ion etched silicon carbide mesa pin diodes with voltage blocking capabilities as high as 4.5 kV have been fabricated from 6H–SiC epitaxial layers. The epitaxial structure was grown by chemical vapor deposition on an n+ substrate giving a low‐doped 45 μm thick n− active base layer and a 1.5 μm thick high‐doped p+ emitter layer on top. A high minority carrier lifetime of 0.43 μs in the n− active base layer provides good on‐state properties with a typical forward voltage drop of 6 V at 100 A/cm2.

A 4.5 kV 6H silicon carbide rectifier

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A 4.5 kV 6H silicon carbide rectifier