Hiroyuki Kondo

Transmission electron microscope study of a threading dislocation with and its effect on leakage in a 4H–SiC MOSFET

Threading dislocations (TD’s) in a 4H-SiC MOSFET were characterized using transmission electron microscopy with special emphasis of their effects on leakage in a p–n junction. Two types of TD’s were identified; a threading near-screw dislocation (TnSD) with , and a threading mixed dislocation (TMD) with , the last of which has been found for the first time in this study. The TnSD show only negligibly small leakage, while TMD shows a large leakage. Origins of the difference in the degree of the leakage have been discussed.

TSD Reduction by RAF (Repeated a-Face) Growth Method

A reduction in threading screw dislocation (TSD) density in 4H-SiC (silicon carbide) crystal is required for SiC power devices. In this study, TSD’s transformation by the RAF (repeated a-face) growth method [1] is observed by transmission X-ray topography (g=0004) of the cross-section of the crystal. Increasing the number of repetitions of a-face growth and offsetting c-face growth to an angle of several degrees reduce TSDs. TSD density is reduced to 1.3 TSD/cm2. The RAF growth method is very effective towards growing high quality SiC crystals.

Development of RAF Quality 150mm 4H-SiC Wafer

We have developed RAF (Repeated a-face) growth method which is high quality bulk crystal growth technology [1, 2]. A block crystal more than 150 mm square size was produced by the RAF growth method. Since c-face growth crystal was produced on the seed obtained from the block crystal, high quality 150mm 4H-SiC wafer was achieved. This paper reports the results of the quality evaluation.

The dissociation modes of threading screw dislocations in 4H-SiC

In 4H-SiC, which is currently considered as a most promising candidate for the power devices, four types of threading dislocation (TD) have been identified. Apart from a threading edge dislocation with bu2009=u2009a, it has been shown recently that there are at least three types of TDs whose Burgers vectors b are parallel or nearly parallel to the c axis, i.e. a threading pure screw dislocation (TpSD) with bu2009=u2009[0001], a threading near screw dislocation (TnSD) with and a threading mixed dislocation (TMD) with . These dislocations have been called simply as threading screw dislocations (TSDs). Since the total Burgers vector, and hence the energy, increases in the order of TpSD, TnSD and TMD, it is expected that the occurrence should decrease in the order of TpSD, TnSD and TMD. This is not the case. The reason why high-energy TnSD and TMD are as abundant as low-energy TpSD has been discussed based on the dissociation models. As a result of dissociation, the difference of energy among these three types of TSD is reduced considerably.

Growth of Low Resistivity n-Type 4H-SiC Bulk Crystals by Sublimation Method Using Co-Doping Technique

The nitrogen (N) and aluminum (Al) co-doped growth of n-type 4H-SiC bulk crystals were performed by sublimation method. In the co-doping growth, we achieved the lowest resistivity of 6.9mWcm, and we also confirmed phenomenon of stacking faults suppression in spite of high N concentration more than 8 x 1019cm-3.

Characterization of Threading Screw Dislocations of Burgers Vectors with A-Components in 4H-SiC

We characterized threading screw dislocations to investigate the influence on device performance. The Burgers vectors of the threading screw dislocations (a total of 28dislocations) in 4H-SiC were determined by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction. A new type of TSD, b=c+2a dislocation was identified. And all of the four types of TSD predicted were identified. The frequency of their occurrence observed experimentally is in good agreement with theoretical prediction. In addition, we investigated relations of Burgers vector and the dislocation line direction.u3000 It has been confirmed that the Burgers vector of TSD does not necessarily coincide with the direction of dislocation lines. Looking ahead,u3000we need to investigate how the angle between Burgers vector and dislocation line influence device performance.

Inclination of a threading dislocation in an epilayer of 4H-SiC

Threading dislocations (TDs) are inclined from the [0001] c-axis in 4H-SiC epilayers which are produced by the step-controlled technique. The reason for this inclination is discussed in the framework of isotropic elastic theory of dislocation. The elastic strain energy of a TD in an epilayer is calculated as a function of its orientation, and the minimum energy orientation is used to predict the inclination angle. The results of the calculations are as follows. For a cut-off angle (α) of 4°, a threading edge dislocation (TED) and a threading pure screw dislocation (TpSD) are inclined from the c-axis by 12 and 2°, respectively: Threading near screw dislocations (TnSDs) and threading mixed dislocations (TMDs) are inclined by angles ranging from 8 to 15° from the c-axis, depending on their actual Burgers vectors. Similarly for α of 8°, a TED and a TpSD are inclined from the c-axis by 21 and 4°, respectively: TnSDs and TMDs are inclined from the c-axis by angles ranging from 7 to 17°. These predictions are in good agreement with experiment.

Growth Study of p-Type 4H-SiC with Using Aluminum and Nitrogen Co-Doping by 2-Zone Heating Sublimation Method

p-type SiC crystals doped with aluminum and nitrogen were grown by the sublimation method. We found that Al and N co-doping is effective for stabilized growth of p-type 4H-SiC polytype. We studied the relationship of polytype of grown crystals and the condition of Al and N feeding during the crystal growth. p-type 4H-SiC with p~1 x 1018 cm-3 are stably-obtained with this method.

Threading dislocation with b=c+2a in 4H-SiC as determined by LACBED

The Burgers vectors of the so-called threading screw dislocations (a total of 28 dislocations) in 4H-SiC were determined by large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction. A new type of TSD, that is, b = c + 2a dislocation, was identified. Thus, all of the four types of TSD predicted by Onda et al. [Phil. Mag. Lett. 93 (2013) p.591] were identified.