Formation of amorphous alloys on 4H-SiC with NbNi film using pulsed-laser annealing

Abstract

Amorphous alloys containing Ni-Si-Nb-C were formed on 4H-SiC creating a low resistance Ohmic contact electrode. In a conventional nickel silicide (NiSi) electrode on SiC, a carbon agglomeration at the silicide/SiC interface occurs, and contact resistance between NiSi and SiC substrate becomes larger. For carbon agglomeration suppression, nanosecond non-equilibrium laser annealing was introduced, and to form metal carbides, carbon-interstitial type metals Nb and Mo were introduced. Ni, Nb, Mo, Nb/Ni, Mo/Ni multilayer contacts, and NbNi mixed contact were formed on the C-face side of n-type 4H-SiC wafers. The electrical contact properties were investigated after a 45 ns pulse laser annealing in N2 ambient. As a result, with NbNi film, an amorphous alloy with Ni-Si-Nb-C was formed, and a low specific contact resistance of 5.3 × 10−4 Ω cm2 was realized.