Nitrogen incorporation during 4H-SiC epitaxy in a chimney CVD reactor

Nitrogen incorporation is studied during epitaxial chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of 4H-SiC in a vertical, hot-wall CVD reactor. The nitrogen doping dependencies on input C/Si ratio, growth temperature and process pressure are investigated under the process conditions leading to growth rates in the range of 15–30 μm/h. The nitrogen incorporation is observed to be a thermally activated process with a higher apparent activation energy for the Si-face than for the C-face. The site-competition principle is well followed at C/Si ratios higher than 0.3, whereas the nitrogen doping becomes less sensitive to the C/Si ratio on both the Si- and the C-faces at C/Si ratios below 0.3. The pressure has a strong effect on the nitrogen incorporation efficiency, allowing lower doping at the lower pressure. The influence of the growth parameters on the nitrogen incorporation is closely related both to the epitaxial growth mechanisms and to the surface kinetics on the different polarity SiC faces. The doping mechanisms are analysed taking into account the gas-phase chemistry and the surface kinetics.