Defect appearance on 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layers via molten KOH etching

Abstract Epitaxial defects such as threading screw dislocation (TSD), basal plane dislocation (BPD) and so on will seriously reduce the reverse voltage or increase leakage current of power devices. We studied the classification and statistics of the above several types of 4H-SiC epitaxial defects, by using molten KOH etching the epitaxial layer to explore and trace the origin of epitaxial defects. Studies have shown that the formation principles of various epitaxial defects are related to dislocations, and the growth parameters such as carbon-to-silicon ratio and growth time have paid a significant role on epitaxial defects.