Emmanuel Collard

Evidence of electrical activity of extended defects in 3C-SiC grown on Si

In this paper, we demonstrate the high electrical activity of extended defects found in 3C–SiC heteroepitaxially grown layer on (100) silicon substrates. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscopy analysis was performed to reveal the defects while scanning spreading resistance microscopy aimed to study their electrical behavior. Using this technique, complete layer resistance cartography was done. The electrical activity of the extended defects in 3C–SiC was clearly evidenced. Furthermore, the defect activity was estimated to be higher than that of heavily nitrogen doped (5×1018 cm−3) 3C–SiC layer.

Process Parameters Influence on Specific Contact Resistance (SCR) Value for TiAl Ohmic Contacts on GaN Grown on Sapphire

In this work, Ti/Al bilayer sputtered ohmic contacts on n-type Gallium Nitride films were studied as a function of process parameters such as Ti thickness, surface cleaning procedure or annealing temperature. Epilayers, with doping concentration of 5.8x1018 at.cm-3, were grown on sapphire using AlN buffer layer. Electrical characterizations were made using circular Transfer Length Method (cTLM) patterns with a four probes equipment. Specific Contact Resistance (SCR) was then extracted for all the process conditions. Our results show that surface treatment is not a critical step in the ohmic contact process while annealing temperature has a larger impact. Finally, SCR values of 1x10-5 Ω.cm2 can be reproducibly achieved, which is of high interest for future devices fabrication using this material.

High Quality Ohmic Contacts on n‐type 3C‐SiC Obtained by High and Low Process Temperature

3C‐SiC, the only polytype which can be heteroepitaxially grown on large diameter silicon substrates, is a promising material to achieve power Schottky diodes. To carry out such diodes, high quality ohmic contacts are required. In this work, ohmic contacts were investigated on in situ highly n‐doped 3C‐SiC epilayers grown on (100) cheap silicon substrates. Different metals such as nickel, titanium, aluminum and gold were used to carry out the contacts. Classical circular Transfert Length Method (c‐TLM) structures were prepared to evaluate the specific contact resistance. Ni and Ti‐Ni contacts were annealed between 950° C and 1050° C while Al and Ti‐Au contacts were annealed between 300° C and 600° C. The specific contact resistance was then determined by using c‐TLM patterns. For each investigated contact, the best specific contact resistance values obtained are lower than 2×10−5Ω⋅cm2, even consecutively to a low temperature annealing.

Low specific contact resistance to 3C-SiC grown on (100) Si substrates

In this work, ohmic contacts, formed by 100nm Ni layer RTA annealed or not, were investigated on 3C-SiC epilayers exhibiting different nitrogen doping levels. The epilayers were grown on (100) silicon. Doping level (N) and eventual dopant contamination (Al) were analyzed by C-V and/or SIMS. The specific contact resistance was determined by using Transmission Line Model (TLM) patterns for each condition (doping and annealing). Our results clearly evidence that very low specific contact resistance (~10-51.cm²) is obtained on highly doped 3C-SiC epilayers, enlightening the interest of both material and Ni contacts for future devices fabrication.

ICP Etching of 4H-SiC Substrates

Due to its inert chemical nature, plasma etching is the most effective technique to pattern SiC. In this paper, dry etching of 4H-SiC substrate in Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) has been studied in order to evaluate the impact of process parameters on the characteristics of etching such as etch rate and trenching effect. Key process parameters such as platen power and ICP coil power prove to be essential to control the SiC etch rate. On the other hand, the ICP coil power and the working pressure mainly master the trenching effect. Our results enlighten that high etch rate with minimal trenching effect can be obtained using high ICP coil power and low working pressure.

Ti Thickness Influence for Ti/Ni Ohmic Contacts on N-Type 3C-SiC

We report on the influence of titanium thickness on the structural and electrical properties of annealed Ti/Ni ohmic contacts on highly doped n-type 3C-SiC. Electrical analysis by means of circular transfer length method demonstrate that an interlayer of titanium with thickness in the range of 25-150 nm has no significant influence on specific contact resistance. However, from a structural point of view, the formation of nickel silicides as well as Ti3SiC2 is severely affected by the titanium thickness. Moreover, the Kirkendall effect due to the reaction between Ni and SiC is influenced by the titanium thickness. In fact, Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis demonstrates that the adjunction of titanium affects the distribution of Kirkendall voids in the contact. Current maps determined by conductive Atomic Force Microscopy reveal significant variation of uniformity according to the titanium thickness.

Si+ Implantation and Activation in GaN Comparison of GaN on Sapphire and GaN on Silicon

In this paper, we evaluated gallium nitride heteroepitaxially grown on sapphire (GaN/Sa) and grown on silicon (GaN/Si) faced to implantation doping. Si+ was implanted on low doped n-type epilayers in order to create a plateau around 1020at.cm-3. All the samples were capped with a silicon oxide and annealed between 1000°C and 1150°C. The surface quality was evaluated in terms of roughness, pit density and maximum pit diameter using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Finally, the dopant electrical activation was studied with Ti-Al contacts using the circular Transfert Length Method (c-TLM). This study shows that low Specific Contact Resistance (SCR) values of 8x10-5Ω.cm2 and 6x10-6Ω.cm2 are respectively obtained on GaN/Sa sample annealed at 1150°C-2min and on GaN/Si sample annealed at 1150°C-30s, proving that good ohmic contacts are obtained on both materials. Nevertheless, a compromise has to be done between the low SCR values obtained and the GaN surface degradation, observed by AFM and SEM after the different annealing treatments and which could affect the good behaviour of the GaN devices.

Electrical Characterization of Nitrogen Implanted 3C-SiC by SSRM and C­TLM Measurements

Two electrical characterization methods were used to study 3C-SiC epilayers doped by nitrogen implantation: circular Transfer Length Method (cTLM) which allows extracting the specific contact resistance and Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscopy (SSRM) used to measure activated doping concentration. 3C-SiC samples were implanted at room temperature with different energies (ranging from 30 to 150keV) and doses (from 1 to 5.4x1015cm-2) in order to obtain a 300nm thick box-like profile at 5x1020cm-3. To activate the dopant, the samples were then annealed from 1150°C to 1350°C for 1h to 4h. Titanium-nickel c-TLM contacts annealed at 1000°C under argon showed the best results in terms of specific contact resistance (8x10-6.cm2) after a 1350°C–1h annealing. For this annealing condition, the activation rate was assessed by SSRM around 13%. This value confirms the difficulty to activate the dopants introduced into the 3C-SiC as the temperature is limited by the silicon substrate. However, this work demonstrates that low resistance values can be achieved on 3C-SiC, using nitrogen implantation at room temperature.

Gallium nitride surface protection during RTA annealing with a GaOxNy cap-layer

Gallium nitride (GaN) is generally considered a good candidate for power electronic devices such as Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs). Nevertheless, GaN has a strong sensitivity to high temperature treatments and a cap-layer is mandatory to protect the material surface during annealing at high temperature such as post-implantation treatments. In this work, an oxidized gallium nitride layer (GaOxNy) was generated with Oxford PECVD equipment using a N2O plasma treatment to protect the GaN surface during a rapid thermal annealing (RTA), in the range of 1000 °C–1150 °C for a few minutes. Before annealing, c-TLM patterns were processed on the GaOxNy/GaN sample to characterize its sheet resistance. After the N2O plasma treatment, the sample exhibited lower sheet resistance, indicating a better n-type conduction of the GaOxNy layer due to an excess of free carriers, compared to the as-grown GaN layer. The GaOxNy/GaN surface was then annealed at 1150 °C for 3 min and observed through AFM imaging. The surface exhibited a good quality with a low roughness, nevertheless, a low density of small hexagonal pits appeared after annealing. Finally, studies to determine an efficient etching process of the GaOxNy cap-layer were conducted using both chemical and physical approaches. We observed that efficient etching of the layer was achieved using a heated hydrofluoridric acid (HF 25%) solution. To conclude, GaOxNy has proved to be an efficient cap-layer for GaN protection at high temperature.

A vertical bidirectional bipolar power switch (BipAC) for AC mains applications

A vertical bipolar bidirectional switch (BipAC) is proposed for specific AC mains applications 230 V - 50 Hz. The BipAC exhibits an ON-state voltage drop lower than 1 V and allows an ON-state and OFF-state control with respect to a single electrode which is at the reference potential. It can be realized either on an N substrate (type PNP) or on a P substrate (type NPN). Its low voltage drop and its ON/OFF control with respect to a single reference electrode make it interesting for applications with low load current (<; 1 A rms). This study is based on 2D physical simulations carried-out using Sentaurus™ software.