Lifetime Enhancement of 4H-SiC PiN Diodes Using High Temperature Oxidation Treatment

Abstract

In this paper, the application of a high temperature thermal oxidation and annealing process to 4H-SiC PiN diodes with 35 μm thick drift regions is explored, the aim of which was to increase the carrier lifetime in the 4H-SiC. Diodes were fabricated using 4H-SiC material and underwent a thermal oxidation in dry pure O2 at 1550◦C followed by an argon anneal at the same temperature. Reverse recovery tests indicated a carrier lifetime increase of around 42% which is due to increase of excessive minority carriers in the drift region. The switching results illustrate that the use of this process is a highly effective and efficient way of enhancing the electrical characteristics of high voltage 4H-SiC bipolar devices.