Materials Science Forum Vols. 740-742

Abstract: Defects in unintentionally Nb-doped 6H-SiC grown by high-temperature chemical vapor deposition were studied by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). An EPR spectrum with a hyperfine (hf) structure consisting of ten equal-intensity lines was observed. The hf structure is identified to be due to the hf interaction between an electron spin S=1/2 and a nuclear spin of 93Nb. The hf interaction due to the interaction three nearest Si neighbors was also observed, suggesting the involvement of the C vacancy (VC) in the defect. Only one EPR spectrum was observed in 6H-SiC polytype. The obtained spin-Hamiltonian parameters are similar to that of the Nb-related EPR defect in 4H-SiC, suggesting that the EPR center in 6H-SiC is the NbSiVC complex in the neutral charge state, NbSiVC0. Photoexcitation EPR experiments suggest that the single negative charge state of the NbSiVC complex is located at ~1.3 eV below the conduction band minimum.

Abstract: Triplet center with spin state S = 1 is detected in the EPR spectrum of the self-assembled 6H SiC nanostructure obtained by non-equilibrium boron diffusion into the n-type 6H SiC epitaxial layer (EL) under conditions of the controlled injection of the silicon vacancies at the temperature of T = 900°C. From the analysis of the angular dependences of the EPR spectrum and the numerical diagonalization of the spin Hamiltonian, the value of the zero-field splitting constant D and g-factor are found to be D = 1140•10^-4см^-1 and g_par = 1.9700, g_per = 1.9964. Based on the hyperfine (hf) structure of the defect originating from the hf interaction with one ¹⁴N nuclei, the large value of the zero-field splitting constant D and technological conditions of the boron diffusion into the n-type 6H SiC EL, the triplet center is tentatively assigned to the defect center consisting of nitrogen atom and silicon vacancy.

Abstract: The influence of attractive and repulsive impurities on the nucleation process of the SiC clusters on Si(100) surface was investigated. Kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of the SiC clusters growth show that that increase of the impurity concentration (both attractive and repulsive) leads to decrease of the mean cluster size and rise of the nucleation density of the clusters.

Abstract: Polycrystalline SiC containing boron and nitrogen are used in growth of fluorescent SiC for white LEDs. Two types of doped polycrystalline SiC have been studied in detail with secondary ion mass spectrometry: sintered SiC and poly-SiC prepared by sublimation in a physical vapor transport setup. The materials are co-doped materials with nitrogen and boron to a concentration of 1x10¹⁸ cm^-3 and 1x10¹⁹ cm^-3, respectively. Depth profiles as well as ion images have been recorded. According to ocular inspection, the analyzed poly-SiC consists mainly of 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC grains. In these grains, the boron concentration is higher and the nitrogen concentration is lower in the 6H-SiC compared to the 4H-SiC polytype. No inter-diffusion between grains is observed.

Abstract: We present investigation of carrier recombination and optical trap recharge in sublimation grown n- and p-type 3C layers by using time-resolved nonlinear optical techniques. Carrier lifetime and recharged trap recovery were measured by differential transmittivity technique. By monitoring nonequilibrium carrier dynamics, we analyzed impact of carrier density and temperature on carrier lifetime and recharged trap recovery rate. Large carrier lifetime and small diffusivity at low injections in highly compensated samples and their dependences on injection were explained by optical recharge of compensating aluminum impurities. The complete recharge of the compensating impurities by optical means allowed us to calculate the compensating aluminum density in n-type samples and compensating nitrogen in p-type ones.

Abstract: A set of lines in the photoluminescence spectra of 4H-, 6H-, and 15R-SiC in the near-infrared are attributed to Nb-related defects on the ground of doping experiments conducted with 4H-SiC. A model based on a an exciton bound at the Nb-centre in an asymmetric split vacancy configuration at a hexagonal site is proposed, which explains the structure of the luminescence spectrum and the observed Zeeman splitting of the lines.

Abstract: We demonstrate that the formation of carbonate-like moiety in SiO₂ could be the origin of negative fixed charge in SiC thermal wet oxidation, based on first-principles calculations. We find that negative CO₃ ion appears in SiO₂ due to not only the existence of residual C atoms that are expected to be emitted from the SiC/SiO₂ interface, but also a large enough number of incorporated H atoms during wet oxidation.

Abstract: We investigated the photoconductivity decay characteristics of p-type 4H-SiC bulk crystals grown by a modified Lely method by differential microwave photoconductance decay (μ-PCD) measurements using a 349-nm laser as an excitation source. We observed persistent photoconductivity (PPC) in the p-type SiC bulk crystals. The decay time at room temperature was 2600 μs. The decay time decreased with increasing temperature, resulting in 120 μs at 250oC, and the activation energy of the decay times was determined to be 140±10 meV. Long decay characteristics were also observed by below-band-gap excitation at 523 or 1047 nm. On the other hand, no PPC was observed in p-type homoepitaxial layers grown by hot-wall chemical vapor deposition.

Abstract: Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been used to characterize neutron-irradiated cubic silicon carbide crystals. The effects of thermal annealing (600-1100^OC) on the PL bands have been studied. Several PL bands consisting of a sharp line and its phonon replicas have been observed in the 9-80 K temperature range. Certain of them like the D₁ spectrum doublet with 1.975 eV and 1.977 eV zero-phonon lines (ZPL) at 9 K and the L2 spectrum with ZPL at 1.121 eV were reported previously for ion-implanted and electron irradiated 3C-SiC crystals, respectively. Besides, some new bands with ZPL at 2.027, 1.594, 0.989 and 0.844 eV and a broad band at 1.360 eV have been found. A correlation of PL and EPR spectra intensities of these neutron-irradiated and annealed cubic SiC crystals is briefly discussed.

Abstract: The preparation and application of co-doped polycrystalline SiC as source in sublimation growth of fluorescent layers is a complex topic. Photoluminescence topographies of luminescent 6H-SiC layers and their corresponding source crystals have been studied in order to investigate the dependence of the epitaxial growth on the source material. It is shown that the homogeneity concerning the dopant incorporation and the layer luminescence intensity does not depend on the characteristics of the PVT grown source material. Therefore co-doped polycrystalline SiC is a promising source material in fast sublimation growth of luminescent 6H-SiC.