Electrical properties and microstructural characterization of Ni/Ta contacts to n-type 6H-SiC

A Ni/Ta bilayer is deposited on n-type 6H-SiC and then annealed at different temperatures to form an ohmic contact. The electrical properties are characterized by I-V curve measurement and the specific contact resistance is extracted by the transmission line method. The phase formation and microstructure of the Ni/Ta bilayer are studied after thermal annealing. The crystalline and microstructure properties are analyzed by using glance incident x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. It is found that the transformation from the Schottky to the Ohmic occurs at 1050 ℃ and the GIXRD results show a distinct phase change from Ta₂C to TaC at this temperature. A specific contact resistance of 6.5× 10^-5Ω · cm² is obtained for sample Ni(80 nm)/Ta(20 nm)/6H-SiC after being annealed at 1050 ℃. The formation of the TaC phase is regarded as the main reason for the excellent Ohmic properties of the Ni/Ta contacts to 6H-SiC. Raman and TEM data reveal that the graphite carbon is drastically consumed by the Ta element, which can improve the contact thermal stability. A schematic diagram is proposed to illustrate the microstructural changes of Ni/Ta/6H-SiC when annealed at different temperatures.