Boron implantation and epitaxial regrowth studies of 6H SiC

Implantation of B has been performed into an epitaxially grown layer of 6H SiC, at two different B concentrations, 2×1016 cm−3 and 2×1018 cm−3. Subsequently, an epitaxial layer was regrown on the B implanted layer. The samples were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). In the highly B-doped layers plate-like defects were found, associated with large strain fields, and an increased B concentration. These defects were stable at the originally implanted region during regrowth and at anneal temperatures up to 1700°C. In the samples implanted with the lower B concentration, no crystal defects could be detected by TEM. No threading dislocations or other defects were observed in the regrown epitaxial layer, which shows the possibility to grow a layer with high crystalline quality on B implanted 6H SiC. By SIMS, it was found that B piles up at the interface to the regrown layer, which could be explained by enhanced diffusion from an increased concentration of point defects created by implantation damage in the region. B is also spread out into the original crystal and in the regrown layer at a concentration of below 2×1016 cm−3, with a diffusion constant estimated to 1.3×10−12 cm2s−1. This diffusion is most probably not driven by implantation damage, but by intrinsic defects in the grown crystal. Our investigation shows that the combination of implantation and subsequent regrowth techniques could be used in SiC for building advanced device structures, with the crystal quality in the regrown layer not being deteriorated by crystal defects in the implanted region. A device process using B implantation and subsequent regrowth could on the other hand be limited by the diffusion of B.