中国物理B ›› 2025, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (6): 67201-067201.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/adc407
Prolonging carrier lifetime in P-type 4H-SiC epilayer by thermal oxidation and hydrogen annealing
Ruijun Zhang(张锐军)1, Mingkun Zhang(张明昆)3, Guoliang Zhang(张国良)1, Yujian Chen(陈雨箭)1, Jia Liu(刘佳)1, Ziqian Tian(田自谦)1, Ye Yu(余烨)1,†, Peng Zhao(赵鹏)1, Jiafa Cai(蔡加法)1, Xiaping Chen(陈厦平)1, Dingqu Lin(林鼎渠)1, Shaoxiong Wu(吴少雄)1, Yuning Zhang(张宇宁)1, Xingliang Xu(徐星亮)4, Rongdun Hong(洪荣墩)1,2,‡, and Feng Zhang(张峰)1,2,§
- 1 Department of Physics, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China;
2 Jiujiang Research Institute of Xiamen University, Jiujiang 332000, China;
3 The Higher Educational Key Laboratory of Flexible Manufacturing Equipment Integration of Fujian Province, Xiamen Institute of Technology, Xiamen 361005, China;
4 Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, Chengdu 610000, China
Prolonging carrier lifetime in P-type 4H-SiC epilayer by thermal oxidation and hydrogen annealing
Ruijun Zhang(张锐军)1, Mingkun Zhang(张明昆)3, Guoliang Zhang(张国良)1, Yujian Chen(陈雨箭)1, Jia Liu(刘佳)1, Ziqian Tian(田自谦)1, Ye Yu(余烨)1,†, Peng Zhao(赵鹏)1, Jiafa Cai(蔡加法)1, Xiaping Chen(陈厦平)1, Dingqu Lin(林鼎渠)1, Shaoxiong Wu(吴少雄)1, Yuning Zhang(张宇宁)1, Xingliang Xu(徐星亮)4, Rongdun Hong(洪荣墩)1,2,‡, and Feng Zhang(张峰)1,2,§
- 1 Department of Physics, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China;
2 Jiujiang Research Institute of Xiamen University, Jiujiang 332000, China;
3 The Higher Educational Key Laboratory of Flexible Manufacturing Equipment Integration of Fujian Province, Xiamen Institute of Technology, Xiamen 361005, China;
4 Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center, Chengdu 610000, China
摘要： A minority carrier lifetime of 25.46 μs in a P-type 4H-SiC epilayer has been attained through sequential thermal oxidation and hydrogen annealing. Thermal oxidation can enhance the minority carrier lifetime in the 4H-SiC epilayer by reducing carbon vacancies. However, this process also generates carbon clusters with limited diffusivity and contributes to the enlargement of surface pits on the 4H-SiC. High-temperature hydrogen annealing effectively reduces stacking fault and dislocation density. Moreover, electron spin resonance analysis indicates a significant reduction in carbon vacancy defects after hydrogen annealing. The mechanisms of the elimination of carbon vacancies by hydrogen annealing include the decomposition of carbon clusters formed during thermal oxidation and the low-pressure selective etching by hydrogen, which increases the carbon content on the 4H-SiC surface and facilitates carbon diffusion. Consequently, the combination of thermal oxidation and hydrogen annealing eliminates carbon vacancies more effectively, substantially enhancing the minority carrier lifetime in P-type 4H-SiC. This improvement is advantageous for the application of high-voltage SiC bipolar devices.
中图分类号: (Charge carriers: generation, recombination, lifetime, and trapping)
- 72.20.Jv