Local Lifetime Control in 4H-SiC by Proton Irradiation

The effect of local lifetime control by proton irradiation on the OCVD response of a 10 kV SiC PiN diode was investigated. Carrier lifetime was reduced locally by irradiation with 800 keV protons at fluences up to 1x1011cm-2. Radiation defects were characterized by DLTS and C-V profiling; excess carrier dynamics were measured by the OCVD and analyzed using the calibrated device simulator ATLAS from Silvaco, Inc. Results show that proton implantation followed by low temperature annealing can be used for controllable local lifetime reduction in SiC devices. The dominant recombination centre is the Z1/2defect, whose distribution can be set by irradiation energy and fluence. The local lifetime reduction, which improves diode recovery, can be monitored by OCVD response and simulated using the SRH model accounting for the Z1/2defect.