It was noted that SiC p-i-n diodes exhibited an increase in the voltage drop under forward bias which was linked to an increased mobility of the partial dislocations. Using first-principles calculations, an investigation was made of the Shockley partials in 4H-SiC. It was found that the asymmetrical reconstructions did not posses mid-gap states, while the symmetrical reconstructions were always electrically active with a half-filled band. The kink migration analysis demonstrated that the symmetrical reconstructions were always more likely to migrate. A new theoretical model was proposed which could explain the enhancement of the dislocation mobility under forward bias. This model could be applied to any semiconductor materials in order to predict the behaviour under electron-hole plasma injections.

Theory of Partial Dislocations in SiC. G.Savini: Physica Status Solidi C, 2007, 4[8], 2883-7