Quantified Density of Active near Interface Oxide Traps in 4H-SiC MOS Capacitors

Abstract

This paper presents a new method to quantify near interface oxide traps (NIOTs) that are responsible for threshold voltage instability of 4H-SiC MOSFETs. The method utilizes the shift observed in capacitance–voltage (C–V) curves of an N-type MOS capacitor. The results show that both shallow NIOTs with energy levels below the bottom of conduction band and NIOTs with energy levels above the bottom of the conduction band of SiC are responsible for the C–V shifts, and consequently, for the threshold voltage instabilities in MOSFETs. A higher density of NIOTs is measured at higher temperatures.