Development of power semiconductors by quantitative nanoscale dopant imaging

Dopant imaging at high spatial resolution provides an indispensable tool for the improvement of novel power semiconductor devices. Cross-sections of next-generation devices based on Silicon (Si) and Silicon Carbide (SiC) have been investigated by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) derived dopant imaging techniques in a dedicated ultra-high vacuum (UHV) setup to determine the active carrier concentration in differently doped areas of the device under investigation. The physical location of the metallurgical p/n-junction and the associated space-charge regions (SCR) can be experimentally characterized with nanoscale precision. Furthermore, fabrication processes benefit from a reduced number of manufacturing cycles due to the profound knowledge on the evolution of dopant atoms and their corresponding impact on the device performance. Typical power device doping-levels in the range of 1014 cm−3 to 1014 cm−3 can be sensed by the here discussed approach.