Correlation between shapes of Shockley stacking faults and structures of basal plane dislocations in 4H-SiC epilayers

Abstract

Shockley-type stacking faults expanded in 4H–SiC epilayers induced by ultraviolet illumination were investigated using a photoluminescence imaging method, a photoluminescence mapping method and X-ray topography. After ultraviolet illumination, more than 30 patterns of Shockley-type stacking faults which expanded from perfect basal plane dislocations were observed by photoluminescence imaging. The initial basal plane dislocations were crystallographically classified, and individual shapes of expanded Shockley-type stacking faults were predicted. The correspondence between the predicted shapes and observed ones was discussed.

Keywords:

• Silicon carbide (SiC)
• dislocations
• crystal defects
• stacking faults

Acknowledgements

We thank KLA-Tencor for the technical support.

Notes

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI); Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), ‘Next-generation power electronics/Consistent R&D of next-generation SiC power electronics’ [funding agency: NEDO].