Full band Monte Carlo study of bulk and surface transport properties in 4H and 6H–SiC

Abstract

The bulk and surface electron transport properties of the 4H and 6H polytypes of silicon carbide (SiC) are studied using a full band Monte Carlo (MC) program. The model for the electrons is based on data from a full potential band structure calculation using the density functional theory (DFT) in the local density approximation (LDA). Both SiC polytypes have anisotropic transport properties, but the degree and characteristics of the anisotropy is different. In this study, we show how the anisotropy affects the bulk mobility for intermediate angles between the crystal axis and the plane perpendicular to it. Simulations of surface transport properties have also been performed for semiconductor-interface angles up to 15° from the plane perpendicular to the c-axis. We present results for surface mobility and velocity as a function of the electric field component parallel to the interface plane. In the surface mobility simulations, a semi-empirical model for the semiconductor–insulator interface has been used, where it is assumed that the electrons are reflected in two perpendicular planes.