Nitrogen and hydrogen induced trap passivation at the SiO2/4H-SiC interface

Abstract

Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a wide band-gap semiconductor that is receiving much attention for electronic applications in high temperature and high power environments. Operation under these extreme conditions has motivated the development of SiC metal-oxide-field-effect-transistors (MOSFETs) for efficient power switching applications. In any MOS system, the quality of the interface between the oxide and the semiconductor has a great impact on the performance of the device. Although SiC can be thermally oxidized to silicon dioxide (SiO2) as in the case of Si; one of the major obstacles for SiC MOSFET development has been the inferior quality of the SiO2/SiC interface. This dissertation focuses on the development and characterization of interface modification processes that passivate interface defects and improve the quality of this interface.