NRL Launches SiC Epitaxial Growth Effort for Future Power Systems

Abstract : The Navy's desire for an all-electric ship will require the creation of new devices with power performance far exceeding existing technologies. Silicon carbide has been identified as the primary candidate semiconductor to build such advanced devices. In January 2006, NRL dedicated a new state-of-the-art SiC epitaxial growth laboratory permitting fundamental research to address current limitations of the material, namely, basal plane dislocations (BPDs) and minority carrier lifetime. Equipped with customized in-situ process diagnostics and an accelerated research plan, the laboratory has already succeeded in growing material with minority carrier lifetimes near world record and is focusing on multiple BPD reduction approaches. This initial success was achieved in part by monitoring the gas phase carbon-to-silicon ratio, the primary variable linked to intrinsic defect levels. Further, a demonstration of mass spectrometer sensitivity of <1014 dopant atoms/cm3 enables the low, controlled doping required by the device technologies.