Formation of Ohmic contacts on laser irradiated n-type 6H-SiC without thermal annealing

Abstract

In this work, KrF excimer laser irradiation of n-type SiC is used to form Ohmic contacts at the interfaces between the irradiated SiC and various types of metals with different work functions without subsequent thermal annealing. Ohmic contacts are formed between laser-treated 6H-SiC and Ti at a laser fluence of 0.7 J/cm2. Moreover, in the fluence range of 0.7–1.3 J/cm2, Ohmic characteristics are also observed between irradiated 6H-SiC and Au, which is a representative inert metal. The laser-induced heavy doping effect reduces the thickness of the Schottky barrier between the metal and SiC, and the formation of graphene sheets on the irradiated SiC surface reduces the barrier height, resulting in the direct formation of Ohmic contacts. Our findings thus demonstrate the potential of this laser treatment method to achieve Ohmic contacts between n-type SiC and a broad range of metal electrodes without requiring high-temperature annealing.