Nitrogen Ion Implantation into 6H-SiC and Application to High-Temperature, Radiation-Hard Diodes

Ion implantation of nitrogen (N) into 6H-SiC{0001} epilayers was systematically investigated. The N profiles simulated with a TRIM (transport of ions in matter) program showed good agreement with experimental results when the tilt angle was set larger than 5°. The sheet resistance of implanted layers decreased with increasing annealing temperature, and a low sheet resistance of 820 Ω/ was obtained by annealing at 1600° C. The implanted p-n junction diodes showed a small reverse leakage current of 2.9×10 -9 A/cm 2 at a bias voltage of -10 V, and a high breakdown voltage of 446 V at room temperature. The diodes operated with good rectification at a high temperature of 350° C. The characteristics of the diodes showed very little change after gamma-ray irradiation with total doses up to 10 Mrad.