Materials Science Forum Vols. 615-617

Abstract: Knoop microhardness assessments were conducted on a variety of 6H- and 4H-SiC substrates to assess any appreciable differences that may need to be considered in wafer manufacture and general application. Nitrogen-doped, vanadium-doped and unintentionally doped (UID) substrates with both on-axis and 8° off-axis orientations were assessed. In general, the Knoop hardness values fell in the 2000 to 2500 kg/mm2 range (equivalent to approximately 20 to 25 GPa). Hardness values measured in the <1100> crystal direction were significantly higher than in the <11-20> direction. Undoped and vanadium-doped samples were harder than nitrogen-doped samples. For both 6H and 4H nitrogen-doped samples, the hardness was as much as 10% higher for 8° offcut wafers than for on-axis.

Abstract: Amorphous SiCxNy films have been deposited on (100) Si substrates by RF magnetron sputtering of a SiC target in a variable nitrogen-argon atmosphere. The as-deposited films were submitted to thermal anneling in a furnace under argon atmosphere at 1000 °C for 1 hour. Composition and structure of unannealed and annealed samples were investigated by RBS and FTIR. To study the electrical characteristics of SiCxNy films, Metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structures were fabricated. Elastic modulus and hardness of the films were determined by nanoindentation. The results of these studies showed that nitrogen content and thermal annealing affect the electrical, mechanical and structural properties of SiCxNy films.

Abstract: The aim of the present work is to study the evolution and the annihilation of inversion domain boundaries in 3C-SiC during growth. For this investigation conventional and high resolution transmission electron microscopy were employed. It is shown that the physical mechanism which results in the annihilation of inversion domain boundaries in 3C-SiC starting from the 3C-SiC/Si interface is the change of the crystallographic planes in which inversion domain boundaries propagate into the {111} ones. In all cases modeling and simulation analysis by EMS software [1] are in agreement with the experimental results.

Abstract: n-type 3C-SiC films have been grown by sublimation epitaxy on hexagonal silicon carbide substrates. The low-temperature conductivity and magnetoresistance of the films have been studied in relation to their doping level and structural perfection. It was found that a metal--insulator transition occurs in the n-3C-SiC layer at concentrations Nd - Na ≤ 3 1017 cm-3.

Abstract: The electronic structure of in-grown 8H stacking faults in 4H-SiC matrix has been investigated in detail. After assessment of the structural properties by high resolution transmission electron microscopy, we focus on the electronic structure. We show that one unit cell of 8H does not behave like a single type-II quantum well but, rather, like two type-II quantum wells of 3C coupled by a thin hexagonal barrier. Using a transfer matrix method, we compute the corresponding transition energies, taking into account the effect of the valence band offset and built-in electric field. A good agreement is found with the experimental data collected from low temperature photoluminescence spectroscopy.

Abstract: EPR and ESE in nitrogen doped 4H- and 6H-SiC show besides the well known triplet lines of 14N on quasi-cubic (Nc,k) and hexagonal (Nc,h) sites additional lines (Nx) of comparatively low intensity providing half the hf splitting of Nc,k. Frequently re-interpreted as spin-forbid¬den lines, arising from Nc,k pairs and triads or resulting from hopping conductivity, only re¬cent¬ly the theoretical calculation of the corresponding g-tensors lead to a tentative model of distant NC donor pairs on inequivalent lattice sites which are coupled to S = 1 assuming a fine-struc¬ture splitting too small to be observed in the EPR and ESE experiments. In this work, we pre¬sent ESE nutation measurements confirming S = 1 for the Nx center. Analysing the nutation frequencies in comparison with that of the Nc,k (S = 1/2) spectrum as well as the line width of ESE and EPR spectra we obtain a rough estimate between 5104 cm-1 and 50104 cm-1 for the fine-structure splitting demonstrating efficient spin-coupling between nitrogen donors in 4H-SiC.

Abstract: A model is presented for the silicon vacancy in SiC. The previously reported photoluminescence spectra in 4H and 6H SiC attributed to the silicon vacancy are in this model due to internal transitions in the negative charge state of the silicon vacancy. The magnetic resonance signals observed are due to the initial and final states of these transitions.

Abstract: The Tv2a center in 4H-SiC irradiated by electrons at room temperature has been studied by pulsed EPR. Various techniques such as pulsed ELDOR (electron-electron double resonance), 2-pulse echo decay, 3-pulse inversion recovery, pulsed ENDOR (electron nuclear double resonance), and 3-pulse ESEEM (electron spin echo envelope modulation) have been applied to perform the detailed structure determination and to exploit applicability for the coherent spin control experiments.

Abstract: In this work we elucidate the microscopic origin of the dominant radiation induced I-II spectra in p-type doped 4H-SiC. By calculating the electronic g-tensor from first principles in the framework of density functional theory, basal antisite pairs SiCCSi + are shown to give rise to the characteristic anisotropic g-tensors found in the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements. Additional central hyperfine (hf) splittings of about 100 MHz due to the SiC antisite nuclei are predicted theoretically and also resolved experimentally. We have, thus, identified antisite pairs as a dominant defect in electron and proton irradiated p-type doped 4H-SiC.

Abstract: We identify the negatively charged dicarbon antisite defect (C2 core at silicon site) in electron irradiated n-type 4H-SiC by means of combined electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies and first principles calculations. The pair of HEI5 and HEI6 EPR centers (S = 1/2, C1h symmetry) are associated with the cubic and hexagonal dicarbon antisite defects, respectively. This assignment is based on the comparison of the measured and calculated hyperfine tensors of 13C and 29Si atoms. We investigated the creation and annihilation of this defect as a function of electron-dose and annealing temperature.