Radiation Effects in Silicon Carbide
A.A. Lebedev
Materials Research Foundations Volume 6
Publication Date 2017, 171 Pages
Print ISBN 978-1-945291-10-4
ePDF ISBN 978-1-945291-11-1
DOI: 10.21741/9781945291111
The book reviews the most interesting research concerning the radiation defects formed in 6H-, 4H-, and 3C-SiC under irradiation with electrons, neutrons, and some kinds of ions. The electrical parameters that make SiC a promising material for applications in modern electronics are discussed in detail.
Specific features of the crystal structure of SiC are considered. It is shown that, when wide-bandgap semiconductors are studied, it is necessary to take into account the temperature dependence of the carrier removal rate, which is a standard parameter for determining the radiation hardness of semiconductors. The carrier removal rate values obtained by irradiation of various SiC polytypes with n- and p-type conductivity are analyzed in relation to the type and energy of the irradiating particles. The influence exerted by the energy of charged particles on how radiation defects are formed and conductivity is compensated in semiconductors under irradiation is analyzed.
Furthermore, the possibility to produce controlled transformation of silicon carbide polytype is considered. The involvement of radiation defects in radiative and nonradiative recombination processes in SiC is analyzed.
Data are also presented regarding the degradation of particular SiC electronic devices under the influence of radiation and a conclusion is made regarding the radiation resistance of SiC. Lastly, the radiation hardness of devices based on silicon and silicon carbide are compared.
Keywords
Silicon Carbide, Irradiation, Protons, Electrons, Compensation, Defects, Carrier Recombination, Annealing, Detectors
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Physical properties of SiC 1
1.1 Technology development and history for obtaining silicon carbide and fabricating devices on its basis 1
1.2 Polytypism in silicon carbide 3
1.3 SiC parameters important for electronics 8
References 12
Chapter 2: Compensation of silicon carbide under irradiation 17
2.1 Threshold energy of defect formation. 18
2.2 Temperature dependence of the carrier removal rate 20
2.3 Dependence of ηe on the measurement procedure 24
2.4 Experimental data obtained in determining the value of ηe 26
2.5 Compensation mechanism in SiC 30
2.5.1 Model 31
2.5.2 Comparison with experiment 35
2.6 Radiation doping 39
2.7 Effect of high irradiation doses 41
2.8 Effect of the energy of recoil atoms on conductivity compensation in moderately doped n-Si and n-SiC under irradiation with MeV electrons and protons 44
2.8.1 Introduction 44
2.8.2 Generation of primary radiation defects under electron irradiation 45
2.8.3 Formation of secondary radiation defects 46
2.8.4 Comparison with experiment 50
Conclusion 56
References 56
Chapter 3: Radiation defects in SiC and their influence on recombination processes 66
3.1 Introduction 67
3.2 Intrisic defects in silicon carbide 68
3.2.1 Centers in the lower half of the energy gap 68
3.2.2 Defects in the upper half of the energy gap 71
3.3 Radiation doping of SiC 77
3.3.1 Electrons 77
3.3.2 Neutrons 79
3.3.3 Alpha – particles 80
3.3.4 Protons 80
3.3.5 Ion implantation 84
3.5 Radiation – stimulated photoluminescence in SiC 90
3.5.1 “Defect” photoluminescence 90
3.5.2 Restorian of SiC characteristics upon annealing 99
References 102
Chapter 4: Effect of irradiation on the properties of SiC and parameters of SiC – based devices 118
4.1 Change in parameters of SiC devices under irradiation 119
4.1.1 Schottky diodes 119
4.1.2 PN diodes 130
4.1.3 SiC field – effect transistors 132
4.2 Possible transformation of the SiC polytype under irradiation 134
4.2.1 Possible resons for the polytypism of SiC 134
4.2.2 Selected experimental results 137
4.3 Comparison of the radiation hardnesses of silicon and silicon carbide 141
4.3.1 Dependence of the radiation hardness on the functional purpose of a device 141
4.3.2 Effect of temperature on the radiation hardness 142
4.4 Conclusion 144
4.5 Acknowledgments 146
References 146
Keywords 157
About the author 159
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About the Authors
Lebedev Alexander Alexandrovich was born March 10th, 1959 in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). He graduated from the Optolectronics Department of St. Petersburg Electrical Engineering University in 1983. Since 1983 he is working at the Ioffe Institute. Since 1999 he holds the position of Head of Laboratory «Physics of the semiconductor Devices». Since 2014 he is also the Director of the Solid State Electronic Division. He is a member of the Scientific Council of the Solid State Electronic Division of the Ioffe Institute. He is also a member of the Scientific Council of the Ioffe Institute and St Petersburg Electrical Engineering University.
Since 2004 he began teaching students at the St. Petersburg Electrical Engineering University and has the position of a full Professor.
A. A. Lebedev is a specialist in the field of physics, technology and device applications of wide bandgap semiconductors. He was the first who studied properties of deep centers and their participation in recombination processes in silicon carbide (SiC) polytypes. Within this work A. A. Lebedev developed a method theory and was the first who applied the non-stationary capacity spectroscopy method for the study of wide bandgap semiconductors. The results obtained by A. A. Lebedev were used for the development of the technology of SiC epitaxial layers with determined parameters. This allowed creation of experimental samples for a number of semiconductor devices (including microwave) on silicon carbide. The investigations, carried out by A. A. Lebedev and his collaborators, showed that the developed SiC devices by their limiting operation temperatures, specific commutatable capacities and radiation resistance correspond to earlier theoretical estimates. Thus, it was experimentally proven that semiconductor devices can operate at temperatures > 800°C and radiation levels on average twice higher than limiting values for Si devices with the same operation parameters. At present the results of these investigations are introduced at Svetlana-Electronpribor, JSC (St.-Petersburg). The results obtained by A. A. Lebedev in many respects stimulated the existing world interest in silicon carbide.
A. A. Lebedev made a considerable contribution to the development of the technology of gallium nitride (GaN) and its solid solutions. Under his guidance the chloride-hydride epitaxy method was improved, which gave a possibility to grow quality GaN and AlGaN epitaxial layers by this method, including p-type, p-GaN/n-GaN homojunctions, GaNАlGaN and GaN (АlGaN) SiC heterojunctions. On basis of these structures “solar blind” AlGaN UV photedetectors were obtained and experimental samples of heterobipolar n-GaN/p-SiC n-SiC transistors were manufactured.
Several times he received Prizes for the “best paper of the year” from the Ioffe Institute Scientific Council. Russian State medal “In memory of 300 years St. Petersburg anniversary” He published about 250 papers in Russian and International journals and International Conference Proceedings.
A. A. Lebedev was supervisor of 5 PhD students. He has four patents in solid state electronics. Dr. Lebedev’s team has won and successfully fulfilled several international grant (4 INTAC, ISTC, 5 RFBR, INCO-COPERNIC and NATO SfP) and direct contracts with national and foreign semiconductors companies: (CREE (US), Schneider Electric and Thomson (France).)
A. A. Lebedev was a Member of the Program Committee of III, IV, V and VI Intern. Seminar on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials, May 2000, May 2002 and May 2004, May 2009 Novgorod the Great, Russia, Member of the Steering Committee of the European Conf. on SiC and Related Materials, Sept. 2006 (Newcastle, UK), Sept 2008 (Barcelona, Span), Sept 2010 (Oslo, Norway), Sept 2012 (Co-chairman, St. Petersburg, Russia), Sept 2016 (Greece, Member of International Advisory Board CIMTEC 2010 of Symposium H “Advances in Electrical, Magnetic and Optical Ceramics”, June 2010 Tuscany, Italy; Member of Scientific Program Committee of 14-th Conference on Semiconductor and Insulating Materials (SIMC-XIV), May 2007, Fayetteville, Aransas, USA, Member of Scientific Program Committee of ICSCRM-2015, Italy, Giardini Naxos, Member of the International Advisory Committee of the International Symposium on Graphene Devices, Brisbane, Australia, 2016.
