Low temperature annealing of 4H–SiC Schottky diode edge terminations formed by 30 keV Ar+ implantation

Edge termination of Schottky barrier diodes has been achieved using 30 keV Ar+ ions implanted at a dose of 1×1015 cm−2. The reverse-bias leakage current is reduced by 2 orders of magnitude following postimplant annealing at a temperature of 600 °C. The thermal evolution of the implantation induced defects was monitored using positron annihilation spectroscopy and deep-level transient spectroscopy. Two distinct defect regions are observed using the positron technique. The depth of the first is consistent with the range of the implanted Ar+ ions and consists of clustered vacancies. The second extends to ∼250 nm, well beyond the range of the incident ions, and is dominated by point defects, similar in structure to Si–C divacancies. An implant damage related deep level, well defined at Ec−Et=0.9 eV, is observed for both the as-implanted and the 600 °C annealed sample. The effect of annealing is a reduction in the concentration of active carrier trapping centers.