Detection of minority carrier traps in p-type 4H-SiC

Abstract

Contrarily to the case of n-type 4H-SiC, very little is known about the presence of minority carrier traps in p-type epilayers. In this study, we performed the electrical characterization of as-grown, electron irradiated, and thermally oxidized p-type 4H-SiC, by using minority carrier transient spectroscopy. Four minority carrier traps are reported in 1.6–2.3 eV energy range above the valence band edge (EV). Particular emphasis is given to the mid-gap minority carrier trap (EH6∕7) and to its correlation to an energetically close mid-gap majority carrier trap (HK4).