IR photothermal and spectroscopic analysis of proton-irradiated 4H-SiC

•The effect of the proton irradiation dose on the properties of 4H-SiC is studied.•The directional dependence of defect-induced proton irradiation is studied.•Thermal wave scattering and IR spectroscopy are used to characterize defects.•It is shown that free carriers contribute to the in-plane thermal transport.•Scattering of thermal wave is converted into defect density depth profile.