Formation of carbon interstitial-related defect levels by thermal injection of carbon into -type 4-SiC
arXiv:2111.01011 · doi:10.1063/5.0077308
Abstract
Electrical properties of point defects in 4-SiC have been studied extensively, but those related to carbon interstitials (C) have remained surprisingly elusive until now. Indeed, when introduced via ion irradiation or implantation, signatures related to C observed by deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) tend to overlap with those of other primary defects, making the direct identification of C-related levels difficult. Recent literature has suggested to assign the so-called M center, often found in as-irradiated 4H-SiC, to charge state transitions of the C defect in different configurations. In this work, we have introduced excess carbon into low-doped n-type 150 μm thick 4-SiC epilayers by thermal annealing, with a pyrolyzed carbon cap on the sample surface acting as a carbon source. Because the layers exhibited initially low concentrations of carbon vacancies ([V] = 10 cm), this enabled us to study the case of complete V annihilation, and formation of defects due to excess carbon, i.e. carbon interstitials C and their higher-order complexes. We report on the occurrence of several new levels upon C injection which are likely C-related. Their properties are different from those found for the M center, which points towards a different structural identity of the detected levels. This suggests the existence of a rich variety of C-related defects. The study will also help generating new insights into the microscopic process of V annihilation during carbon injection processes.