Abstract
SiO 2 encapsulation layer was studied for aluminum (Al) and phosphorus (P) implant activation anneal in 4H-SiC. Both Al - and P + implantation were carried out at 650 °C followed by activation anneal at 1400 °C to 1500 °C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and four-point-probe (FPP) measurements were performed to examine surface stoichiometry, roughness, and sheet resistance of the implanted SiC regions. The effect of using SiO 2 encapsulation layer for Al implant activation on the performance of 4H-SiC p-i-n diodes with both p-type active region and JTE region formed by Al implantation was also investigated. Forward and reverse characteristics including saturation current density J 0 , ideality factor η, reverser leakage current density J L and threshold breakdown voltage V BR have been extracted. The results show that SiO 2 encapsulation effectively protects the SiC surface during high temperature implant activation for both Al - and P + . © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.