Advances in selective doping of SiC via ion implantation

Recently there have been numerous books written on SiC, which is a testament to the importance of this technology and its potential impact on society. A majority of these books attempt to comprehensively cover a specific aspect of the technology and do this by a set of in-depth chapters on a particular research topic, concept, or result. While this is an excellent means to convey important aspects of the technology, the intent of Advances in Silicon Carbide Processing and Applications is to be less expansive and focus in on two of the most promising applications of SiC technology: gas and chemical sensing and electric vehicle motor drive and control. Having made this decision, we realized that the underlying device and processing issues that enable these application areas to be served by SiC technology should also be addressed. Hence a major portion of the book involves aspects of SiC technology in this key area, again with the intent (and hope) that the reader will be able to gain a broad and deep insight into the pacing issues of the technology as of this date. While there is no way to predict the wisdom of this strategy a priori, we have nonetheless tried to put ourselves into the shoes of potential readers of this book and carefully selected chapter topics that would best support this strategy. We hope that all who read this book will benefit from the somewhat different approach we have taken. We begin with an overview of SiC as of 2003, with an attempt to provide some predictions as to the market for the technology. We then immediately jump into the application chapters, first on gas sensors, which is clearly an area where SiC can gain a significant market share compared with traditional Si technology, followed by advances in electric motor drive where, again, SiC clearly has an advantage over Si due to its robust material properties. We then step back and discuss the all-important area of SiC ion implantation technology--this is key since the properties of the SiC lattice precludes the use of thermal diffusion to achieve planar selective doping over the surface of single-crystal wafers. After discussing this topic, we then finish up with a discussion of recent advances in both SiC MOS and bipolar technology, both of which directly impact the sensor and motor drive applications. Attention was made to provide a large number references in the recognition that no single book can be fully exhaustive of such a broad subject such as SiC.