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11 pages, 3986 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Quality 4H-SiC Homogeneous Epitaxy via Homemade Horizontal Hot-Wall Reactor

by Xiaoliang Gong, Tianle Xie, Fan Hu, Ping Li, Sai Ba, Liancheng Wang and Wenhui Zhu

Coatings 2024, 14(7), 911; https://doi.org/10.3390/coatings14070911 - 20 Jul 2024

Viewed by 3132

In this paper, using a self-developed silicon carbide epitaxial reactor, we obtained high-quality 6-inch epitaxial wafers with doping concentration uniformity less than 2%, thickness uniformity less than 1% and roughness less than 0.2 nm on domestic substrates, which meets the application requirements of high-quality Schottky Barrier Diode (SBD) and Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor (MOSFET) devices. We found that increasing the carrier gas flow rate can minimize source gas depletion and optimize the doping uniformity of the 6-inch epitaxial wafer from over 5% to less than 2%. Moreover, reducing the C/Si ratio significantly can suppress the “two-dimensional nucleation growth mode” and improve the wafer surface roughness Ra from 1.82 nm to 0.16 nm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Surface Technology and Application)

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14 pages, 3598 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Influence of Carbon Sources and Buffer Layers on the Homogeneous Epitaxial Growth of 4H-SiC

by Weilong Yuan, Yicheng Pei, Yunkai Li, Ning Guo, Xiuhai Zhang and Xingfang Liu

Micromachines 2024, 15(5), 600; https://doi.org/10.3390/mi15050600 - 29 Apr 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1797

Abstract

In this study, a 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layer was grown on a 150 mm 4° off-axis substrate using a horizontal hot wall chemical vapor deposition reactor. Comparing C₃H₈ and C₂H₄ as C sources, the sample grown with C₂H₄ exhibited a slower growth rate and lower doping concentration, but superior uniformity and surface roughness compared to the C₃H₈-grown sample. Hence, C₂H₄ is deemed more suitable for commercial epitaxial wafer growth. Increasing growth pressure led to decreased growth rate, worsened thickness uniformity, reduced doping concentration, deteriorated uniformity, and initially improved and then worsened surface roughness. Optimal growth quality was observed at a lower growth pressure of 40 Torr. Furthermore, the impact of buffer layer growth on epitaxial quality varied significantly based on different C/Si ratios, emphasizing the importance of selecting the appropriate conditions for subsequent device manufacturing. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section D1: Semiconductor Devices)

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12 pages, 2504 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Optimizing Effect of Nitrogen Flow Ratio on the Homoepitaxial Growth of 4H-SiC Layers

by Weilong Yuan, Yicheng Pei, Ning Guo, Yunkai Li, Xiuhai Zhang and Xingfang Liu

Crystals 2023, 13(6), 935; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst13060935 - 10 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2166

Abstract

In this study, a 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layer was grown on a 150 mm 4° off-axis substrate using a horizontal hot-wall CVD reactor. The research aimed to investigate the impact of varying the C/Si ratio and temperature while also changing the N₂ flow rate and N₂ flow ratio on the growth rate (thickness), doping, surface roughness, and uniformity of the large-size 4H-SiC epitaxial layer. The results indicate that the growth rate and thickness uniformity of the film increases with an increase in the C/Si ratio. Additionally, adjusting the N₂ flow rate in a timely manner based on the change in the C/Si ratio is crucial to achieving the best epitaxial layer doping concentration and uniformity. The study found that, as the temperature increases, the film thickness and thickness uniformity also increase. The maximum thickness recorded was 6.2 μm, while the minimum thickness uniformity was 1.44% at 1570 °C. Additionally, the surface roughness reached its lowest point at 0.81 nm at 1570 °C. To compensate for the difference in thickness and doping concentration caused by temperature distribution and uneven airflow, the N₂ flow ratio was altered. In particular, at a growth temperature of 1570 °C, a N₂ flow ratio of 1.78 can improve the uniformity of doping by 4.12%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Semiconductor Materials and Devices)

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9 pages, 1526 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Doping on Cross-Sectional Stress Assessment of 3C-SiC/Si Heteroepitaxy

by Viviana Scuderi, Marcin Zielinski and Francesco La Via

Materials 2023, 16(10), 3824; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16103824 - 18 May 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1661

Abstract

In this paper, we used micro-Raman spectroscopy in cross-section to investigate the effect of different doping on the distribution of stress in the silicon substrate and the grown 3C-SiC film. The 3C-SiC films with a thickness up to 10 μm were grown on Si (100) substrates in a horizontal hot-wall chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor. To quantify the influence of doping on the stress distribution, samples were non-intentionally doped (NID, dopant incorporation below 10¹⁶ cm⁻³), strongly n-type doped ([N] > 10¹⁹ cm⁻³), or strongly p-type doped ([Al] > 10¹⁹ cm⁻³). Sample NID was also grown on Si (111). In silicon (100), we observed that the stress at the interface is always compressive. In 3C-SiC, instead, we observed that the stress at the interface is always tensile and remains so in the first 4 µm. In the remaining 6 µm, the type of stress varies according to the doping. In particular, for 10 μm thick samples, the presence of an n-doped layer at the interface maximizes the stress in the silicon (~700 MPa) and in the 3C-SiC film (~250 MPa). In the presence of films grown on Si(111), 3C-SiC shows a compressive stress at the interface and then immediately becomes tensile following an oscillating trend with an average value of 412 MPa. Full article

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9 pages, 4358 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Simulation of Gas Phase Reaction for Epitaxial Chemical Vapor Deposition of Silicon Carbide by Methyltrichlorosilane in Horizontal Hot-Wall Reactor

by Botao Song, Bing Gao, Pengfei Han, Yue Yu and Xia Tang

Materials 2021, 14(24), 7532; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14247532 - 8 Dec 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3278

Abstract

Methyltrichlorosilane (CH₃SiCl₃, MTS) has good performance in stoichiometric silicon carbide (SiC) deposition and can be facilitated at relatively lower temperature. Simulations of the chemical vapor deposition in the two-dimensional horizontal hot-wall reactor for epitaxial processes of SiC, which were prepared from MTS-H₂ gaseous system, were performed in this work by using the finite element method. The chemistry kinetic model of gas-phase reactions employed in this work was proposed by other researchers. The total gas flow rate, temperature, and ratio of MTS/H₂ were the main process parameters in this work, and their effects on consumption rate of MTS, molar fraction of intermediate species and C/Si ratio inside the hot reaction chamber were analyzed in detail. The phenomena of our simulations are interesting. Both low total gas flow rate and high substrate temperature have obvious effectiveness on increasing the consumption rate of MTS. For all cases, the highest three C contained intermediates are CH₄, C₂H₄ and C₂H₂, respectively, while the highest three Si/Cl contained intermediates are SiCl₂, SiCl₄ and HCl, respectively. Furthermore, low total gas flow results in a uniform C/Si ratio at different temperatures, and reducing the ratio of MTS/H₂ is an interesting way to raise the C/Si ratio in the reactor. Full article

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10 pages, 3655 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Nitrogen and Aluminum Doping on 3C-SiC Heteroepitaxial Layers Grown on 4° Off-Axis Si (100)

by Cristiano Calabretta, Viviana Scuderi, Ruggero Anzalone, Marco Mauceri, Danilo Crippa, Annalisa Cannizzaro, Simona Boninelli and Francesco La Via

Materials 2021, 14(16), 4400; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma14164400 - 6 Aug 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2992

Abstract

This work provides a comprehensive investigation of nitrogen and aluminum doping and its consequences for the physical properties of 3C-SiC. Free-standing 3C-SiC heteroepitaxial layers, intentionally doped with nitrogen or aluminum, were grown on Si (100) substrate with different 4° off-axis in a horizontal hot-wall chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor. The Si substrate was melted inside the CVD chamber, followed by the growth process. Micro-Raman, photoluminescence (PL) and stacking fault evaluation through molten KOH etching were performed on different doped samples. Then, the role of the doping and of the cut angle on the quality, density and length distribution of the stacking faults was studied, in order to estimate the influence of N and Al incorporation on the morphological and optical properties of the material. In particular, for both types of doping, it was observed that as the dopant concentration increased, the average length of the stacking faults (SFs) increased and their density decreased. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers in Electronic Materials Section)

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9 pages, 2024 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of 4H- and 6H-Like Stacking Faults in Cross Section of 3C-SiC Epitaxial Layer by Room-Temperature μ-Photoluminescence and μ-Raman Analysis

by Viviana Scuderi, Cristiano Calabretta, Ruggero Anzalone, Marco Mauceri and Francesco La Via

Materials 2020, 13(8), 1837; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma13081837 - 13 Apr 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3494

Abstract

We report a comprehensive investigation on stacking faults (SFs) in the 3C-SiC cross-section epilayer. 3C-SiC growth was performed in a horizontal hot-wall chemical vapour deposition (CVD) reactor. After the growth (85 microns thick), the silicon substrate was completely melted inside the CVD chamber, obtaining free-standing 4 inch wafers. A structural characterization and distribution of SFs was performed by μ-Raman spectroscopy and room-temperature μ-photoluminescence. Two kinds of SFs, 4H-like and 6H-like, were identified near the removed silicon interface. Each kind of SFs shows a characteristic photoluminescence emission of the 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC located at 393 and 425 nm, respectively. 4H-like and 6H-like SFs show different distribution along film thickness. The reported results were discussed in relation with the experimental data and theoretical models present in the literature. Full article

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