Recent developments in SiC single-crystal electronics

Abstract

The present paper is an analytical review of the last five or six years of research and development in SiC. It outlines the major achievements in single crystal growth and device technology. Electrical performance of SiC devices designed during these years and some new trends in SiC electronics are also discussed. During the 1980s the studies on sublimation and liquid-phase epitaxial growth of SiC single crystal were continued successfully. At that time, such methods as chemical vapour deposition, thermal oxidation, 'dry' plasma etching and ion implantation which yielded good results with silicon, came into use. As a result of the technological progress, discrete devices appeared, which incorporated the potential advantages of SiC as a wide bandgap material. Among these were high temperature (500-600 degrees C) rectifier diodes and field-effect transistors, high efficiency light-emitting diodes for the short-wave region of the visible spectrum, and detectors of ultraviolet radiation. It should be stressed that the devices were of commercial quality and could be applied in various fields (control systems of automobile engines, aerospace apparatus, geophysical equipment, colour displays in information systems, etc.). The developments in technology and the promising results of research on electrical performance of the devices already available give hope that in the near future SiC may become the basic material for power microwave devices, and for thermo- and radiation-resistant integrated circuits. This process can be stimulated by further perfection of single-crystal substrates of large area, by development of stable high temperature ohmic contacts, micro- and heterostructures.