The electron-beam induced current method was employed to investigate the electrical activity of dislocations in silicon-carbide-diffused p-n diodes. It was observed that EBIC contrast depends on the type of defect (super-screw, screw, and edge dislocation). This dependence was attributed to spatial inhomogeneities in the electrical properties of the material around the dislocations due to different impurity-dislocation interactions during high-temperature (~1900C) diffusion. Chemical etching of the sample was used to define the nature of the defects observed by electron-beam induced current imaging. It was found that electrical breakdown of the diodes occurred at the location of super-screw dislocations.

Observation of Dislocations in Diffused 4H–SiC p-i-n Diodes by Electron-Beam Induced Current. S.Maximenko, S.Soloviev, D.Cherednichenko, T.Sudarshan: Journal of Applied Physics, 2005, 97[1], 013533 (6pp)