Investigation of defects in 3C-SiC using deep level transient spectroscopy

Abstract In this work, epilayers of n -3C-SiC on Si were investigated using deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). The layer structure allowed the investigation of electrically active defects in the n type region of 3C-SiC. By comparison with theoretical calculations based on density functional theory supercells in combination with local moment counter charge from the literature, the observed DLTS peaks could be assigned to intrinsic defects, more specifically different clusters of vacancies and silicon interstitials. The defects may be formed due to the different lattice constants of 3C-SiC and Si, similarly to the dislocations and voids previously observed in TEM studies. Our studies suggest that the DLTS peak observed close to 260 K originates from overlapping two intrinsic defects containing a single positively charged carbon vacancy and a single positively charged silicon interstitial.