Process-Dependent Photoluminescence Behavior Evolution of Stacking Faults in 4H-SiC

Abstract:

The yield of power electronic devices is influenced by many factors including crystal defects like stacking faults (SFs). There are different types of stacking faults but their influence on the finished device and its performance and the behavior of SF during processing is not fully understood yet. With our contribution, we shed light on the issue, showing four different optically characterized subtypes of SFs with different electrical behavior that can already be found after implantation and wafer annealing in photoluminescence (UVPL) imaging. This enables a distinction between different SF classes without the need for a finally processed device and the corresponding electrical characterization. The goal of this paper is to illustrate an alternative for subdividing SF types that would otherwise be detected as triangular defects without any distinction and to show the different effects those subclasses have on finished devices with non-destructive methods that can be used in between device manufacturing steps. These results will be used as basis for further studies to confirm the found classes and to compare them with research about the different crystal structures by spectral PL measurements. For better understanding of the effect on the finished device, the PL imaging data is correlated with I-V characteristics of trenched diodes and the defect types are evaluated on their effect on the I-V characteristic, identifying 3 defect types with detrimental influence on the reverse bias and blocking voltage while the forward bias characteristic and I-V characteristic of one type is not effected by the defects.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 1190)
• Pages: 19-25
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-2nuhGa
• Online since: May 2026
• Authors: Nadja Kölbel*, Birgit Kallinger, Christian Kranert, Stephan G. Müller, Alesa Fuchs, Tobias Erlbacher, Firas Faisal, Jörg Schulze
• Keywords: Defect, Device Failure, Ion Implant, Photoluminescence (PL), Stacking Fault, Yield

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