Thermodynamic equilibration of the carbon vacancy in 4H-SiC: A lifetime limiting defect

The carbon vacancy (V-C) is a prominent defect in as-grown 4H-SiC epitaxial layers for high power bipolar devices. V-C is electrically active with several deep levels in the bandgap, and it is an efficient "killer" of the minority carrier lifetime in n-type layers, limiting device performance. In this study, we provide new insight into the equilibration kinetics of the thermodynamic processes governing the V-C concentration and how these processes can be tailored. A slow cooling rate after heat treatment at similar to 2000 degrees C, typically employed to activate dopants in 4H-SiC, is shown to yield a strong reduction of the V-C concentration relative to that for a fast rate. Further, post-growth heat treatment of epitaxial layers has been conducted over a wide temperature range (800-1600 degrees C) under C-rich surface conditions. It is found that the thermodynamic equilibration of V-C at 1500 degrees C requires a duration less than 1 h resulting in a V-C concentration of only similar to 10(11) cm(-3), which is, indeed, beneficial for high voltage devices. In order to elucidate the physical processes controlling the equilibration of V-C, a defect kinetics model is put forward. The model assumes Frenkel pair generation, injection of carbon interstitials (C-i's) from the C-rich surface (followed by recombination with V-C's), and diffusion of V-C's towards the surface as the major processes during the equilibration, and it exhibits good quantitative agreement with experiment. Published by AIP Publishing.