P-Type Doping of Epitaxial 3C-SiC Layers on Silicon (001)

Abstract:

Single-crystalline 3C-SiC epitaxial layers were grown on on-axis Si (001) substrates by low-pressure hot-wall chemical vapour deposition. Aluminium from a trimethylaluminium (TMA) source was used for p-type doping. The atomic Al and carrier concentrations in the layers were determined as a function of the partial pressure of the TMA source gas. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS), Hall-effect measurements at room temperature and four-point electrical resistivity method were applied to measure the atomic and electrically active Al concentrations. The crystalline perfection of the layers was characterized by high-resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD). At TMA-partial pressures ranging from 510-7 mbar up to 1.510-4 mbar corresponding aluminium concentrations from 21015 cm-3 up to 1.31019 cm-3 were measured in the epitaxial layers. On increasing the Al concentration from 1x1017 cm-3 to 1x1019 cm-3 the layer electrical resistivity decreases from 17 cm to 0.8 cm, while no influence on the crystalline quality of the layers was observed. The average full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the rocking curve for a 5µm thick 3C-SiC layer is about 500 arcsec. With increasing layer thickness (up to 16 µm) the FWHM of the rocking curve decreases to about 300 arcsec.