Materials Science Forum Vol. 1157

Abstract: An effective powder consumption is indispensable for enlarging the diameter and thickness of SiC crystals. We employed three types of filling designs for SiC source powder with different distances between the surface of the seed and the source powder. To maintain the shape of the designs, the SiC source powder was heat-treated in an Ar atmosphere at 680 torr within a temperature range of 1500 to 1600°C. The SiC source powder consumption and contribution to growth in well-structured layouts increased due to the increase in the surface area of SiC source powder, despite its lower initial powder filling. The numerical simulation showed that the well-structured layouts with a higher surface area of SiC source powder have a higher partial pressure of Si and SiC₂ gases (supersaturation of these gas phases) near the seed region compared to the without well-structured layouts. The computed tomography (CT) analysis of the cross-section of SiC source powder after the growth run clearly showed that the source powder was previously sublimated at the region of the crucible wall, and recrystallization at the surface region of the source powder physically retarded the pathway of SiC source gases to the region of the SiC seed crystal. The newly designed well-structured layouts of the source powder have an economical advantage in achieving effective powder consumption during crystal growth.

Abstract: This study investigates the multifaceted relationships between key process parameters such as C/Si ratio, system pressure, temperature, and growth rate and their effects on nitrogen dopant incorporation in homoepitaxial layers on 4H-SiC substrates. We focus on understanding how these growth parameters influence the in situ nitrogen incorporation during chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of epitaxial layers on 150 mm commercially available SiC substrates. Through a carefully designed experimental framework, which explores the interactions between each parameter and the C/Si ratio, we have shed light on a refined approach for epitaxial growth. This approach may not only stabilize the nitrogen dopant concentration across the wafer but possibly also reduces the formation of epitaxial defects.

Abstract: SiCOI is used as a lower cost substrate for power electronics and enables fabrication of MEMS and photonics platforms. Modification of the mechanical properties of SiC through doping is a potential pathway for improving resonator performance. This effort aimed to develop growth parameters for growth of 4H-SiC with nitrogen concentrations of 2x10²⁰ cm^-3 with a smooth surface morphology for fabrication of SiCOI wafers for MEMS fabrication. Growth conditions that were investigated include substrate polarity, growth pressure, C/Si ratio, temperature, and carrier gas flow. Highly doped grown epiwafers contained particle defects which exhibited different morphologies for C- and Si-polarities.

Abstract: Silicon carbide (SiC) is one of the ideal electronic materials for producing high-temperature, high-frequency, and high-power electronic devices. In the past 20 years, with the continuous improvement of silicon carbide material processing technology, its application have been expanding. Unlike Si devices, SiC devices cannot be directly fabricated on crude wafers. Instead, epitaxial films need to be deposited and grown on SiC wafers, then the epitaxial films will be used to produce devices. The doping concentration performance of the epitaxial layer can determine the device performance, making it the most important indicator of the epitaxial layer quality. For a long time, nitrogen has been used as the dopant in the production of SiC epi-wafers. Due to the difficulty of nitrogen cracking and its adsorption in graphite, the concentration is prone to significant drift, resulting in a decrease in yield and low production efficiency. In this research a vertical epitaxial equipment was used to consecutively grow 10 8-inch SiC substrate with nitrogen and ammonia as dopant separately. The concentration and thickness of the grown epitaxial films were measured and studied. The results indicate that compared to nitrogen as a dopant, the results of ammonia doping are significantly better in terms of intra-wafer concentration uniformity and inter-wafer consistency. Using nitrogen as the dopant, the doping concentrations uniformity of epi-layer ranges from 1.31% to 2.18%, and the deviation is between ± 8.0%. As a comparison, using ammonia as the dopant, the doping concentration uniformity of epi-layer ranges from 0.65% to 0.89%, and the deviation is between ± 1.0%. Meanwhile, the thickness performance is at the same level. Therefore, ammonia as a dopant can solve the concentration drift problem that has long been a headache in large-scale production of SiC epitaxy, greatly improving production efficiency. Its advantages are obvious. This study analyzed the possible reasons for the superior performance of ammonia gas as a dopant for 4H SiC epitaxy compared to nitrogen.

Abstract: To generate both two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) at will in SiC polytype heterojunctions, simultaneous lateral epitaxy (SLE) method has been extended to form epilayers of alternating stacks of 4H-and 3C-SiC, which includes the first formation of single-domain 4H-SiC on 3C-SiC. The process starts with a spontaneous generation of mononuclear 3C-SiC on the atomically flat wide terrace on 4H-SiC, which expands parallel to the basal plane to form a single-domain 3C-SiC layer having the coherent interface with the underlying 4H-SiC layer. Step-controlled epitaxy is then applied using the adjacent 4H-SiC steps to grow an alternative 4H-SiC layer on top of the 3C-SiC surface, forming another coherent interface. The crystal structure, the interface structure, and the carrier distribution of this stacked epilayers was analyzed. Finally, it is demonstrated that 2DEG occurs at the coherent interface between the 3C-SiC Si-and 4H-SiC C-faces and 2DHG at the 3C-SiC C-and 4H-SiC Si-faces.

Abstract: Rapid progress in the growth of 4H-SiC epitaxial layers allow device scientists/engineers to tighten the specifications of doping and thickness uniformities of SiC epitaxial films. Further, reducing the cost of SiC epitaxial layers is a continuing goal. A compelling approach is to choose a multi-wafer warm-wall epi reactor which has been shown to have very high wafer throughput. The precursors decompose upon heating by passing over hot reactor components, however, the precursor molecules crack before reaching the substrate and can form parasitic SiC coatings. Such coatings change the emissivity of reactor parts, changing their temperatures. The allowed vapor pressure in the gas phase is also a function of the chemical composition of these deposits. Consequently, the effective Si/C ratio at the wafer varies the nitrogen incorporation efficiency on the SiC epitaxial wafer. In this paper, we have reported an approach on how to minimize the effect of changing Si/C ratio on absolute layer doping and thickness over the full campaign. We analyzed the data, identified the pattern, and have used it to make predictions or decisions to keep the deviation within control limits. The nitrogen incorporation was analyzed as a function of cumulative coating on the reactor parts. The derived models were used to make the decisions for predictive doping by adjusting the flow rates of nitrogen precursors during upcoming campaigns at specific cumulative thickness of reactor parts coating. The same approach was also used for the adjustment of growth time to obtain the targeted epi layer thickness as a function of cumulative coating. Consequently, the predictive doping control resulted in the improvement of doping Cpk from 0.37 to >1.67 and the predictive thickness control resulted in the improvement of thickness Cpk from 0.75 to 1.61. This implies that the process is six sigma qualified and expected overall nonconformance was 0.001% for doping. Moreover, the average 200 source contrast projected 5×5 mm² chip yield using a Lasertec system 88-HIT and the machine learning based PLDLZ recipe was >94% by considering the Particle, Bump, Micropipe, ComplexSF, Polytype Inclusion, Particle Inclusion, and ScratchTrace as device killer defects. The average BPDs were <25 on 150mm wafers using a 1µm thick buffer layer. Initial results on 200 mm wafers are also presented.

Abstract: A breakthrough high throughput WBG semiconductor dopant monitoring method has recently been introduced based on the novel concept of sweeping the electrical bias by near UV illumination-induced photoneutralization of corona charge. As originally discovered for 4H-SiC, the doping determination can be realized using the value of the photoneutralization time constant. In the present work this procedure is tested for β-Ga₂O₃ with a larger energy gap of 4.8eV, using a correspondingly deeper UV range. Such deep UV application to the AlGaN/GaN HEMT structure resulted in the development of a new measurement principle capable of increasing the HEMT wafer measurement throughput 10 times compared to previous corona noncontact C-V metrology. The new principle involves a linear illumination-induced corona charge bias sweep. Combined with surface voltage monitoring, it provides a means for fast and precise determination of the pinch-off voltage, V_P, the AlGaN electrical thickness, and the 2D electron gas density.

Abstract: In this study, we developed two planarization mechanisms, macroscopic and microscopic, controlled by adjusting the C/Si ratio during Dynamic AGE-ing^® (DA) sublimation etching. Using these mechanisms, we planarized rough 4H-SiC wafers without the use of chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Macro planarization forms macro step bunching (MSB) using high C/Si ratio DA etching, straightens the steps using step tension, and removes scratch marks caused by mechanical processing. Microscopic planarization involves debunching these MSBs using low C/Si ratio DA etching. It was observed that debunching progressed more quickly on wafers before CMP finishing due to the higher density of MSBs with ramified structures, which serve as starting points for debunching. The rate at which the MSB is shortened by step debunching increases with rising temperature, reaching about 20 μm/min at 1800 °C. By utilizing these mechanisms, we achieved high-quality planarization (initial Ra = 0.6 nm) to Ra = 0.18 nm for φ6-inch 4H-SiC wafers that had not undergone CMP. Furthermore, by performing DA sublimation growth on this planarized wafer, we achieved an in-grown stacking fault (IGSF) density of 0.09 cm⁻² and a basal plane dislocation (BPD) to threading edge dislocation (TED) conversion ratio of 99.95 %.

Abstract: We have developed a novel, material-lossless silicon carbide (SiC) wafer manufacturing process that eliminates the need for conventional grinding and polishing. Utilizing a thermal sublimation growth and etching technique called Dynamic AGE-ing^® (DA), we simultaneously performed thermal sublimation etching and growth on both the Si-face and C-face of single-crystal SiC wafers. This study investigated the impact of surface undulations—arising during DA planarization of as-sliced wafers with varying slicing qualities—on the densities of basal plane dislocations (BPDs) and in-grown stacking faults (IGSFs) in the epitaxial layers. Our findings demonstrate that larger pre-growth surface undulations correlate with higher BPD and IGSF densities in the DA-grown layers. By optimizing the initial wafer quality and DA process conditions, we achieved epitaxial layers with low defect densities (BPD density of 0.09 cm⁻² and IGSF density of 1.37 cm⁻²) without any material loss. This advancement offers a significant breakthrough in SiC device manufacturing, potentially reducing material costs and enhancing device performance by suppressing killer defects in the epitaxial layers.