5 - Silicon carbide

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a wide bandgap semiconductor that is currently contributing to a deep transformation of power electronics, because of its outstanding combination of physical and electronic properties. Although it is known for a long time, it is only recently that the availability of large size, high-quality wafers has become a reality. Facing both a somewhat conciliatory thermodynamics and an ease to multiply polytypes, SiC growth has been the focus of tremendous efforts over the last decades. As a direct consequence of these difficulties, specific and unique high-temperature crystal growth processes have been developed. This chapter reviews technological advances in the SiC bulk crystal growth technology and discusses the current status of SiC bulk crystal growth, both from the vapor phase (physical vapor transport and high temperature chemical vapor deposition) and the liquid phase (top seeded solution growth). The key issues are discussed to implement SiC bulk crystals of large diameter and increased length with well-defined crystalline and electrical properties. The chapter deals with several crucial technological aspects related to SiC bulk crystal growth, including fundamentals such as thermodynamics and kinetics of SiC bulk crystal growth, and practical issues such as diameter enlargement, defect reduction, and doping. All these aspects, completed by the development of process numerical simulation tools, are combined to provide a comprehensive picture of the current status of SiC bulk crystal growth technology.