It was recalled that, under operating conditions (forward bias), bipolar 4H- and 6H-SiC devices were known to degrade rapidly due to stacking-fault formation and expansion in the basal plane. It was suggested that a recombination-enhanced dislocation glide mechanism permitted the bordering Shockley partial dislocations to overcome the barrier to glide motion and thus resulted in the observed stacking-fault growth. An investigation was made here of the structure and properties of the participating Shockley partials by means of density functional-based atomistic calculations. Their glide motion was modeled by a process which involved the formation and subsequent migration of kinks. This, together with an analysis of the electronic structure of the partials, permitted an identification of those types which would be affected by the recombination-enhanced dislocation glide mechanism.

Basal Plane Partial Dislocations in Silicon Carbide. A.T.Blumenau, R.Jones, S.Öberg, P.R.Briddon, T.Frauenheim: Physica B, 2003, 340-342, 160-4