Materials Science Forum Vols. 778-780

Abstract: Defect formation during the initial stage of physical vapor transport (PVT) growth in the [000-1] and [11-20] directions has been investigated by x-ray reciprocal space mapping (RSM) and defect-selective etching. RSM studies showed that, while the crystal grown in the [000-1] direction did not show a significant degradation of the crystalline quality during the initial stage of growth, the growth in the [11-20] direction resulted in misoriented subgrain structure near the grown crystal/seed interface. The cause of the domain formation is assumed to be the difference in nitrogen concentration between the seed and the grown crystal, and the results indicate that the growth in the [11-20] direction is greatly affected by the nitrogen doping difference.

Abstract: The nitrogen (N) and aluminum (Al) co-doped growth of n-type 4H-SiC bulk crystals were performed by sublimation method. In the co-doping growth, we achieved the lowest resistivity of 6.9mWcm, and we also confirmed phenomenon of stacking faults suppression in spite of high N concentration more than 8 x 10¹⁹cm^-3.

Abstract: Our latest results of SiC bulk growth by High-Temperature Gas Source Method　are given in this paper. Based on Mullins-Sekerka instability, optimal growth conditions to preclude dendrite crystals, which are one of the pending issues for high-speed bulk growth, was studied. First, the simulation studies showed that high temperature gradient in a growing crystal is required for high-speed bulk growth without dendrite crystals. Second, high-speed bulk growth was demonstrated under high temperature gradient.

Abstract: Possibilities of very fast 4H-SiC crystal growth using a high-temperature gas source method are surveyed by computational simulation and experimental studies. The temperature range suitable to obtain high growth rates are investigated by simulating temperature dependences of growth rates for H₂+SiH₄+C₃H₈ and H₂ +SiH₄+C₃H₈+HCl gas systems. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that an increase in source gas flow rates as well as gas-flow velocities enhance growth rates. High growth rates exceeding 1 mm/h are experimentally obtained using both gas systems. Single crystal growth on a 3-inch diameter seed crystal is also demonstrated.

Abstract: This paper reports on evidence of high-quality and very fast 4H-SiC crystal growth achieved using a high-temperature gas source method. The formation of threading screw dislocations (TSDs) during crystal growth was examined by comparing synchrotron X-ray topography images taken for a seed and grown crystals, while the generation of a high density of new TSDs is observed under improper growth condition. High-quality crystal growth retaining the TSD density of the seed crystal was accomplished under an improved condition, even for a very high growth rate of 2.1 mm/h.

Abstract: We studied the effect of rotation speed of seed crystal on the growth rate during the solution growth of SiC. The growth rate increased with increasing rotation speed of the seed crystal. The increase in the growth rate was observed in relatively wide range of carbon concentration. According to the numerical simulation, the carbon concentration gradient near the growth interface under 150 rpm condition is larger than 20 rpm (ACRT) condition. This indicates that increase in the growth rate is caused by the increase in the carbon concentration gradient of the diffusion layer.

Abstract: Surface morphology and threading dislocation conversion behavior during solution growth of 4H-SiC using pure Si and Al-Si solvents was investigated. The growth surfaces on the C face were smoother than the Si face. By the addition of Al to the solvent, the growth surface became smooth on the C face and rough on the Si face. Threading screw dislocation conversion took place only in the grown crystals on the Si face and threading edge dislocation conversion occurs both on the Si face and the C face using the pure Si solvent. On the other hand, in the grown crystal on the C face using the Al-Si solvent, the threading dislocation conversion was hardly observed. These results indicate that the threading dislocation conversion behavior is influenced by the surface morphology.

Abstract: The carbon distribution and its transport in the liquid from the source to the crystal directly affect the control of parasitic nucleation, the growth front stability, and the growth rate during SiC solution growth. Controlling the carbon transport is one of the key issues for understanding and improving the process. In this paper, numerical modeling by finite element method is used to describe the complex convective flow pattern in the melt. We focus on electromagnetic convection and investigate the effect of coil frequency, keeping a simple and technologically realistic crucible design. We show that below a critical value of frequency, the carbon transport can be controlled by the electromagnetic convection, giving rise to significant growth rate enhancement.

Abstract: P-type 4H-SiC bulk crystals have been grown at a high growth rate of 1.0 mm/h by solution growth using Si-Cr-Al based melt. The crystals grown from solution with an Al content of 10at% show low resistivity of 35 mcm, which is two orders of magnitude lower than commercialwafers (Resistivity: 2500 mcm). The low-resistivity crystals have flat surface and few solvent inclusions. These results indicate that solution growth is a suitable method for fabricating low-resistivity p-type substrates with low cost.

Abstract: We performed top-seeded solution growth of 4H-SiC for obtaining longer length crystal. Si-Cr and Si-Ti melts were used as solvents. Meniscus formation technique was applied to the present study. Special attention was paid to improve the process stability during long-term growth. One of major technological problems in the solution growth is that the precipitation of polycrystalline SiC which hiders the stable single crystal growth. Another problem is the fluctuation of supersaturation at the growth interface during the growth. Through the optimization of growth process conditions, we have successfully grown 4H-SiC single crystals up to 14 mm long with three-inch-diameter, and evaluated their crystalline quality.