Expansion patterns of single Shockley stacking faults from scratches on 4H-SiC

Abstract

Abstract Single Shockley-type stacking faults (1SSFs) in the 4H-SiC epilayer exhibits numerous expansion patterns determined by the relationship between initial basal-plane dislocation (BPD) direction and Burgers vector. In this study, patterns of BPDs and 1SSFs generated by UV illumination near linear scratches on a SiC epilayer were investigated. The correlation between the observed 1SSF patterns and the scratch line directions was discussed by considering shear stress near the scratch lines. This result suggests that it is possible to form 1SSFs with a desired shape by adjusting the components of shear stress through the setting of scribing conditions.