Study of the irradiation damage in SiC by ion channeling

The importance of silicon carbide as a wide band gap semiconductor is widely accepted and well documented. Its excellent physical properties (chemical inertness, high-temperature strength, low thermal expansion, extreme hardness) make it the most promising substitute for traditional semiconductors, especially when high-temperature, high-voltage power, and high-frequency devices are concerned. In the present work, the gradual amorphization of a SiC Lely (21R) crystal when irradiated with 8 MeV 7Li ions in a random direction up to a maximum dose of approximately 1×10 16 particles/cm 2, is being studied, using the progressive change of channeling parameters for different depths. The results refer to the energy region of ∼1 MeV/nucleon, and an attempt is made in order to explain the peculiarities of the experimental spectra and the mechanism of defect production in SiC. As in previous studies, a change in color was observed after irradiation in the random mode, indicating that the problem of irradiation damage in SiC caused by light ion beams needs further investigation.