Materials Science Forum Vols. 615-617

Abstract: SiC MOSFET, as power device, can be expected to operate with high drain and high gate voltages, possibly leading to hot-carrier effect. However, hot-carrier degradation in a SiC MOSFET is difficult to detect because the as fabricated devices contain high level of defects. We report, for the first time, evidence of hot-carrier effect in 4H-SiC MOSFET. The result suggests that hot hole from impact ionization trapped in the oxide is the cause of the channel hot-carrier effect.

Abstract: Low-frequency noise in 4H-SiC MOSFETs has been measured for the first time. At drain currents varying from deep subthreshold to strong inversion, the 1/f (flicker) noise dominated at frequencies 1 - 105 Hz. The dependence of relative spectral noise density, , on drain current Id (at a constant drain voltage Vd) differs qualitatively from that in Si MOSFETs. In Si MOSFETs, ~ 1/ in strong inversion, whereas tends to saturate in sub-threshold. In 4H-SiC MOSFETs under study, ~ 1/ over the whole range of currents from deep sub-threshold to strong inversion. Similar noise behavior is often observed in poly- or a-Si TFTs. The effective channel mobility in 4H-SiC MOSFETs, 3 - 7 cm2/Vs, is also as low as that in TFTs. Both noise behavior and transport properties of 4H-SiC MOSFETs are explained, analogously to TFTs, by a high density of localized states (bulk and interface) near the conduction band edge in the ion implanted p-well.

Abstract: A new 4H-SiC Bipolar Junction Transistor with Suppressed Surface Recombination structure: SSR-BJT has been proposed to improve the common emitter current gain which is one of the main issues for 4H-SiC BJTs. A Lightly Doped N-type layer (LDN-layer) between the emitter and base layers, and a High Resistive P-type region (HRP-region) formed between the emitter mesa edge and the base contact region were employed in the SSR-BJT. A fabricated SSR-BJT showed a maximum current gain of 134 at room temperature with a specific on-resistance of 3.2 mΩcm2 and a blocking voltage VCEO of 950 V. The SSR-BJT kept a current gain of 60 at 250°C with a specific on-resistance of 8 mΩcm2. To our knowledge, these current gains are the highest among 4H-SiC BJTs with a blocking voltage VCEO more than about 1000 V which have been ever reported.

Abstract: This paper addresses the performance of SiC NPN Bipolar Junction Transistors (BJTs) at high and low temperature. A current gain of 50 at room temperature was obtained which decreases to 25 at 275 oC. A maximum current gain (β) of 111 has been reported at -86 oC. At low temperature (below -86 oC), the current gain drops rapidly because of carrier freezout effect. At room temperature, a minimum on-resistance of 7 mΩ-cm2 was obtained. This increases to 28 mΩ-cm2 at 275 oC. The on-resistance of BJTs is approximately unaffected by lowering the temperature down to -86 oC from room temperature. Below -86 oC, the on-resistance jumps up rapidly because of carrier freezeout. Electrical performance of BJTs have been fairly stable during stress measurement at high temperature (120 hours at 100 oC ) at a collector bias of 1000V (with open base) for devices with a breakdown voltage of 1200V.The devices have been stressed further at low (i.e., 6) and high gain (i.e., 15) at room temperature. Initial degradation within first hour of stress test has been reported and then degradation stabilizes out. Packaged devices were tested up to 550 oC and performed admirably well up to that temperature.

Abstract: This work reports 4H-SiC bipolar junction transistor (BJT) results based upon our first intentionally graded base BJT wafer with both base and emitter epi-layers continuously grown in the same reactor. The 4H-SiC BJTs were designed to improve the common emitter current gain through the built-in electrical fields originating from the grading of the base doping. Continuously-grown epi-layers are also believed to be the key to increasing carrier lifetime and high current gains. The 4H-SiC BJT wafer was grown in an Aixtron/Epigress VP508, a horizontal hot-wall chemical vapor deposition reactor using standard silane/propane chemistry and nitrogen and aluminum dopants. High performance 4H-SiC BJTs based on this initial non-optimized graded base doping have been demonstrated, including a 4H-SiC BJT with a DC current gain of ~33, specific on-resistance of 2.9 mcm2, and blocking voltage VCEO of over 1000 V.

Abstract: In this study, high voltage blocking (2.7 kV) implantation-free SiC Bipolar Junction Transistors with low on-state resistance (12 mΩ•cm2) and high common-emitter current gain of 50 have been fabricated. A graded base doping was implemented to provide a low resistive ohmic contact to the epitaxial base. This design features a fully depleted base layer close to the breakdown voltage providing an efficient epitaxial JTE without ion implantation. Eliminating all ion implantation steps in this approach is beneficial for avoiding high temperature dopant activation annealing and for avoiding generation of life-time killing defects that reduces the current gain. Also in this process large area transistors showed common-emitter current gain of 38 and open-base breakdown voltage of 2 kV.

Abstract: Surface passivation of 4H-SiC has been investigated for high current-gain bipolar junction transistors (BJTs). For the characterization of surface passivation, we have introduced the product “sp•Ls” of a surface recombination velocity (sp) and a surface diffusion length (Ls). The sp•Ls value was obtained by analyzing the I-V characteristics of pn diodes. Both BJTs and pn diodes were fabricated with several passivation methods. We have found clear correlation between the sp•Ls value and the current gain of the fabricated BJTs. Optimizing the surface passivation, we realized high performance BJTs with a current gain of 107 and a blocking voltage VCEO of 950 V.

Abstract: Ion implantation for selective doping of SiC is problematic due to damage generation during the process and low activation of dopants. In SiC bipolar junction transistor (BJT) the junction termination extension (JTE) can be formed without ion implantation using instead a controlled etching into the epitaxial base. This etched JTE is advantageous because it eliminates ion implantation induced damage and the need for high temperature annealing. However, the dose, which is controlled by the etched base thickness and doping concentration, plays a crucial role. In order to find the optimum parameters, device simulations of different etched base thicknesses have been performed using the software Sentaurus Device. A surface passivation layer consisting of silicon dioxide, considering interface traps and fixed trapped charge, has been included in the analysis by simulations. Moreover a comparison with measured data for fabricated SiC BJTs has been performed.

Abstract: The design and the experimental results of some prototypes of SiC X-ray detectors are presented. The devices have been manufactured on a 2’’ 4H-SiC wafer with 115 m thick undoped high purity epitaxial layer, which constitutes the detection’s active volume. Pad and pixel detectors based on Ni-Schottky junctions have been tested. The residual doping of the epi-layer was found to be extremely low, 3.7 x 1013 cm-3, allowing to achieve the highest detection efficiency and the lower specific capacitance of the detectors. At +22°C and in operating bias condition, the reverse current densities of the detector’s Schottky junctions have been measured to be between J=0.3 pA/cm2 and J=4 pA/cm2; these values are more than two orders of magnitude lower than those of state of the art silicon detectors. With such low leakage currents, the equivalent electronic noise of SiC pixel detectors is as low as 0.5 electrons r.m.s at room temperature, which represents a new state of the art in the scenario of semiconductor radiation detectors.

Abstract: The spectrometric characteristics of detectors based on 4H-SiC films with ion-doped p+–n junctions in a temperature range from 25 to 375 °C have been studied. The experiments with 5.8-MeV α-particles in a high-temperature chamber were performed. The interference factors of the detectors operation in a mode of spectrometry are established. The energy resolution of 1.35% is received. An increase of the efficiency of the diffusion–drift charge transport with increasing temperature has been observed. The last is explained by an increase in the diffusion length of minority carriers.