In bipolar SiC devices, which are promising under ultra-high voltage operation, the carrier lifetime is a highly influential parameter for the device performance. Surface recombination is one of the limiting factors for the carrier lifetime, and quantitative values of the surface recombination velocities are required for the design and development of fabrication processes of the devices. In this study, we observe carrier recombination at various temperatures for the Si- and C-faces of n- and p-type 4H-SiC samples and the a- and m-faces of n-type 4H-SiC samples with a treatment of chemical mechanical polishing or reactive ion etching by using the microwave photoconductivity decay method. From the experimental results, we estimate surface recombination velocities and bulk carrier lifetimes of the samples by using an analytical model. As a result, we found the smallest surface recombination velocity of 150 cm/s for the chemical mechanical polished surface of the Si-face of the n-type samples at room temperature. Surface recombination velocities increased with temperature for the chemical mechanical polished surfaces. The surfaces treated with reactive ion etching showed relatively large surface recombination velocities with weak temperature dependence. Based on these results, we discuss the origins of the recombination centers at surfaces of 4H-SiC.
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21 May 2020
Research Article|
May 15 2020
Surface recombination velocities for 4H-SiC: Temperature dependence and difference in conductivity type at several crystal faces
Masashi Kato
;
Masashi Kato
a)
1
Department of Electric and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
2
Frontier Research Institute for Materials Science, Nagoya Institute of Technology
, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: kato.masashi@nitech.ac.jp
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Zhang Xinchi;
Zhang Xinchi
1
Department of Electric and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
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Kimihiro Kohama;
Kimihiro Kohama
1
Department of Electric and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
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Shuhei Fukaya;
Shuhei Fukaya
1
Department of Electric and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
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Masaya Ichimura
Masaya Ichimura
1
Department of Electric and Mechanical Engineering, Nagoya Institute of Technology
, Nagoya 466-8555, Japan
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a)Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: kato.masashi@nitech.ac.jp
J. Appl. Phys. 127, 195702 (2020)
Article history
Received:
March 17 2020
Accepted:
May 03 2020
Citation
Masashi Kato, Zhang Xinchi, Kimihiro Kohama, Shuhei Fukaya, Masaya Ichimura; Surface recombination velocities for 4H-SiC: Temperature dependence and difference in conductivity type at several crystal faces. J. Appl. Phys. 21 May 2020; 127 (19): 195702. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0007900
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