Observation of Deep Levels and Their Hole Capture Behavior in p-type 4H-SiC Epilayers with and without Electron Irradiation

Abstract

To design SiC bipolar devices, information on deep levels acting as recombination centers is essential. In this paper, we report on the observation of deep levels in p-type 4H-SiC epilayers with and without electron irradiation before and after annealing at 1000 °C. We performed current deep level transient spectroscopy (I-DLTS) for the samples, and the observed deep levels were located near the valence band (with the activation energies less than 0.35 eV) in all the samples. Based on the change of I-DLTS spectra by the electron irradiation or the annealing, we discussed the origins of the deep levels. Then we estimated the time constants of hole capture by the deep levels and discussed the possibility that the observed deep levels behave as recombination centers.