Observation of Misfit Dislocations Introduced by Epi-Layer Growth on 4H-SiC

Abstract

4H-SiC substrate wafers with epi-layers were observed using monochromatic synchrotron X-ray topography in grazing incidence geometries, to investigate the defects in the epi-layer. Misfit dislocations with b=+1/3[11 2 0] caused by the difference in lattice parameter between the epi-layer and the substrate were observed. The misfit dislocations are located near the interface as edge dislocations, and appear at the top surface as screw dislocations on basal planes. It was observed that more than half of them were introduced from the growing epi-layer surface. The misfit dislocations and some screw dislocations with b=+1/3[11 2 0] are observed to remain as basal plane dislocations at the surface, while other basal plane dislocations were converted to threading edge dislocations in the epi-layer.