Study of Defects Generated by Standard- and Plasma-Implantation of Nitrogen Atoms in 4H-SiC Epitaxial Layers

A comparison is made between two kinds of Nitrogen implantations for the formation of thin n+p junctions in p-type Silicon Carbide (SiC) epitaxial layers. The standard beam ion implantations and PULSIONTM processes were performed at two distinct energies (700 eV and 7 keV) and the subsequent annealing was held at 1600°C in a resistive furnace specifically adapted to SiC material. Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy (PAS) and unpolarized infrared reflectivity (IR) measurements were carried out before and after the annealing, respecively. Despite the presence of deep vacancy clusters near the as-implanted sample surfaces, no extended defects were detected after the annealing. Plasma implanted samples prove to contain a lower point defect concentration than beam implanted samples. The concentration of these defects (resulting from plasma process) is higher in the plane parallel to the optical axis, which denotes an energy spreading alongside the dopant distribution.