Expansion of a single Shockley stacking fault in a 4H-SiC (11 2 ¯0) epitaxial layer caused by electron beam irradiation

The expansion behavior of a single Shockley stacking fault (SSSF) originating from a basal plane dislocation in a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer on the (11 2 ¯0) a-plane under electron beam (EB) (//[11 2 ¯0]) irradiation was observed. The width of the SSSF was proportional to the EB current. EB irradiation at a fixed spot outside an SSSF can expand the SSSF as effectively as direct SSSF irradiation. It was found that the selective excitation of an SSSF and/or a Si-core partial dislocation (PD) is possible by appropriately setting the EB irradiation position because the cathodoluminescence spectrum varies with the irradiation position around an SSSF. The rate of SSSF expansion upon the indirect excitation of a Si-core PD is much larger than that upon direct SSSF excitation. However, the expansion rate under both indirect SSSF excitation and indirect Si-core PD excitation is smaller than that under indirect Si-core excitation. The C-core PD became mobile after supplying a threshold number of electron-hole pairs.