Papers by Author: Mitsutaka Nakamura

Abstract: The effects of basal-plane defects on the performance of 4H-SiC Schottky diodes using a Ni electrode are demonstrated. Systematic characterization was performed using 4H-SiC epitaxial layers grown by sublimation epitaxy on substrates with various off-axis angles. As the off-axis angle increases, the ideality factor of the current-voltage characteristics increases, and the Schottky barrier height decreases, corresponding to an increase in the number of basal-plane defects. The reverse-bias current degrades for high off-axis samples. These results indicate that basal-plane defects degrade the device performance. Schottky diodes that possesses good characteristics were obtained for samples with low off-axis angles (2o- and 4o-off samples).

Abstract: The pendeo epitaxial growth has been applied for the growth of 3C-SiC on (001) Si substrates. This growth was performed by VPE using hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) as a source gas. To characterize the crystallinity of the seed 3C-SiC and the pendeo epitaxial layer, the high resolution transmission electron microscopic (HRTEM) analysis was carried out. In the vertically grown layer on the seed 3C-SiC, the high-defect-density regions were observed. On the contrary, the low-defect-density regions were observed in the laterally grown layer. It was revealed from the TEM observations that lattice information can be transferred through the seed 3C-SiC while defects can be prevented from propagating into the epitaxial layer due to the presence of the air gap.

Abstract: Chemical vapor deposition of (111) 3C-SiC on (110) Si substrate was carried out, and the effect of the substrate off-axis introduced on (110) Si substrate for suppressing the twin formation in 3C-SiC hetero-epitaxial layers was investigated. From the growth on hemispherically polished (110) Si substrate, it was found that the off-axis toward the [001] Si axis had a noble effect for suppressing the twin formation, while the off-axis toward the [110] Si axis was ineffective. The growth of single 3C-SiC crystal containing few double positioning boundaries, which are related with the twin formation, was demonstrated on the (110) Si substrate 3° off-axis toward the [001] Si axis. Transmission electron microscopic observation revealed that double positioning boundaries on the (110) Si substrate off-axis toward the [001] Si axis were nearly eliminated within the initial a few hundreds nano meter in thickness.

Abstract: Interfaces between a Si(110) substrate and 3C-SiC crystals grown hetero-epitaxially by CVD were investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Gas flow condition during the carbonization process affects the roughness of the substrate surface and there is an optimum condition to preserve the flat surface. High quality 3C-SiC crystals grew only on the flat substrate, with crystallographic relationship of Si[1-10]//SiC[1-10] and Si[001]//SiC[1-1 - 2], because the well-lattice-match relationship was limited in a two-dimensional region at the SiC(111)/Si(110) interface. Using the optimum condition, some kinds of roughness at an atomic scale remained on the surface of the substrate. Nanoscopic observation of the crystals grown on an off-axis substrate revealed the influence of the roughness on the epitaxial growth and the defects generation at the interface.

Abstract: Hetero-epitaxial CVD growth of 3C-SiC on a Si(110) substrate gives a (111) crystal with low defects density. However, double positioning growth often disturbs growth of a single crystal. The growth on an off-axis Si(110) substrate suppressed propagation of the double positioning defects in the grown layer effectively. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed the details of the suppression process on the off-axis substrate. The suppression mechanism and the origin of the defects formation at double positioning boundaries were interpreted by the growth model based on an anisotropic growth rate on (111) plane of 3C-SiC.