SiC Epitaxial Layers with Low Basal Plane Dislocation Concentrations
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Description:
The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed a process for manufacturing silicon carbide epiwafers with low basal plane dislocation (BPD) concentration that saves time and resources on the production line by relying on epitaxial growth interrupts. The reduction of BPDs relies on the conversion of BPDs to threading edge dislocations (TEDs) at each growth interrupt and the use of multiple interrupts to achieve a desired overall BPD reduction. The interrupted/modified epitaxial growth technique relies on straight forward in situ growth process that may be easy to implement with commercial epitaxial growth systems.Advantages/Features Include:
- Able to provide epilayers with very low BPD levels (<1 cm-2) over large areas.
- Applicable to any SiC substrate with off-cuts of approximately 8 degrees.
- Method is compatible with conventional SiC epitaxy providing ease of insertion.
- Method is more efficient than traditional BPD reduction methods providing low BPD epi at lower cost.
Applications Include:
- High-voltage power diodes
- High-voltage power switches
- High efficiency power electronic components and converters
References:
- R.E. Stahlbush, B.L. VanMil, R.L. Myers-Ward, K.K. Lew, D.K. Gaskill and C.R. Eddy, Jr., "Basal Plane Dislocation Reduction in 4H-SiC Epitaxy by Growth Interruptions", Applied Physics Letters 94, 041916(1-3) (2009).
- B.L. VanMil, R.E. Stahlbush, R.L. Myers-Ward, Y.N. Picard, S.A. Kitt, J.M. McCrate, S.L. Katz, D.K. Gaskill and C.R. Eddy, Jr., "Basal Plane Dislocation Mitigation in 8 Degree Off-cut 4H-SiC Through in situ Growth Interrupts During Chemical Vapor Deposition", Materials Science Forum 615-617, 61-66 (2009).
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Contact:
Naval Research LaboratoryTechnology Transfer Office, Code 1004
techtran@research.nrl.navy.mil