Surface Morphology Improvement and Repeatable Doping Characterization of 4H-SiC Epitaxy Grown on 4° Off-Axis 4H-SiC Wafers

Abstract

4H Silicon Carbide (4H-SiC) has a great potential for low-loss power devices due to its superior electrical properties. However, the increase in demand for the power devices requires high quality SiC substrates and epitaxial layers. Mercury probe Capacitance Voltage (Hg CV) measurement is a well known procedure to characterize epi layers grown on SiC substrates, due to its non-destructive technique. However, careful calibration of the tool is very important for repeatable and accurate measurements. Here we present very close repeatability of Hg CV within 2.4% (standard deviation 0.7%), between different Solid State Measurements (SSM) setups compared with Ni Schottky (NiS) CV. In addition to growing uniformly doped epi layers, high surface quality of the epi layer is also needed for improved device performance. Improved process conditions resulted in a smooth epi with a surface roughness Ra 1.2 nm for a 6 µm thick epi layer. Molten Potassium Hydroxide (KOH) etching analysis also revealed a significant correlation between the surface roughness and epi defects.