A study was made of the effect of growth conditions on micropipe-filling during 4H–SiC epitaxial growth. It was found that a micropipe in an on-axis substrate was filled during epitaxial growth and that this micropipe was filled with a spiral growth. The micropipe-filling on on-axis substrates had a high probability, and was independent of the growth conditions. On the other hand, the probability of micropipe-filling of 8° off-axis substrates exhibited a strong dependence upon the growth pressure and the growth rate. The probability of micropipe-filling increased with decreasing growth pressure or increasing growth rate. The probability of micropipe-filling of the C-face was higher than that of the Si-face. By comparing numerical simulations and experimental results, it was found that the concentration of Si species just above the substrate was a crucial factor in micropipe filling.

Effect of Growth Condition on Micropipe Filling of 4H–SiC Epitaxial Layer. K.Kojima, S.Nishizawa, S.Kuroda, H.Okumura, K.Arai: Journal of Crystal Growth, 2005, 275[1-2], 549-54