Suppression of stacking-fault expansion in 4H-SiC PiN diodes using proton implantation to solve bipolar degradation.

4H-SiC has been commercialized as a material for power semiconductor devices. However, the long-term reliability of 4H-SiC devices is a barrier to their widespread application, and the most important reliability issue in 4H-SiC devices is bipolar degradation. This degradation is caused by the expansion of single Shockley stacking-faults (1SSFs) from basal plane dislocations in the 4H-SiC crystal.

Suppression of stacking fault expansion in a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer by proton irradiation.

SiC bipolar degradation, which is caused by stacking fault expansion from basal plane dislocations in a SiC epitaxial layer or near the interface between the epitaxial layer and the substrate, is one of the critical problems inhibiting widespread usage of high-voltage SiC bipolar devices. In the present study, we investigated the stacking fault expansion behavior under UV illumination in a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer subjected to proton irradiation. X-ray topography observations revealed that proton irradiation suppressed stacking fault expansion.