In-grown stacking faults in n-type 4H-SiC epitaxial layers were investigated by means of real-colour cathodoluminescence imaging and spectroscopy carried out at room or liquid helium temperatures. Stacking faults with an 8H stacking order were observed, as well as double-layer and multi-layer 3C-SiC structures and a defect with an excitonic band-gap at 2.635eV. It was found that 8H stacking faults and triangular surface defects could be generated by similar nucleation sources. Time-resolved measurements revealed that, compared to defect-free regions, the carrier lifetimes were severely reduced by the presence of stacking faults corresponding to triangular surface defects and three-dimensional 3C-SiC inclusions.

Cathodoluminescence Study of the Properties of Stacking Faults in 4H-SiC Homoepitaxial Layers. S.I.Maximenko, J.A.Freitas, P.B.Klein, A.Shrivastava, T.S.Sudarshan: Applied Physics Letters, 2009, 94[9], 092101