This application is a U.S. national phase of International Application No. PCT/JP2016/074724 filed on Aug. 25, 2016 and is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-170814 filed on Aug. 31, 2015, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The present disclosure relates to a silicon carbide (hereinafter referred to as SiC) single crystal, a SiC single crystal wafer, a SiC single crystal epitaxial wafer, and an electronic device.
Patent Literature 1 describes a high-quality SiC single crystal. The SiC single crystal in Patent Literature 1 is required to classify spiral dislocations into dislocations with large distortion and dislocations with small distortion based only on a Burgers vector, and to have a low density of the dislocations with large distortion.
Patent Literature 1: JP 2014-159351 A
According to an investigation on the relationship between device characteristics and threading dislocations by the present inventors, threading dislocations that exist in a SiC single crystal include dislocations with a large angle made between an orientation of a Burgers vector and an orientation of a dislocation line. The present inventors have found that a large number of dislocations with such a large angle existing in the SiC single crystal would lead to significant deterioration of device characteristics.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a high-quality SiC single crystal, SiC single crystal wafer, and SiC single crystal epitaxial wafer that can improve device characteristics. Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an electronic device having improved device characteristics.
A silicon carbide single crystal according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes threading dislocations each of which having a dislocation line extending through a C-plane and a Burgers vector including at least a component in a C-axis direction. In addition, a density of the threading dislocations having angles, each of which is formed by an orientation of the Burgers vector and an orientation of the dislocation line, larger than 0° and within 40° is set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less. Furthermore, a density of the threading dislocations having the angles larger than 40° is set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less.
Device characteristics can be improved in such a manner that an electronic device includes a silicon carbide single crystal having a low density of threading dislocations with large distortion due to a large angle made between an orientation of a Burgers vector and an orientation of a dislocation line. Accordingly, a high-quality silicon carbide single crystal can be provided.
A silicon carbide single crystal wafer according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes threading dislocations each of which having a dislocation line extending through a C-plane and a Burgers vector including at least a component in a C-axis direction. In addition, a density of the threading dislocations having angles, each of which is formed by an orientation of the
Burgers vector and an orientation of the dislocation line, larger than 0° and within 40° is set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less. Furthermore, a density of the threading dislocations having the angles larger than 40° is set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less.
Device characteristics can be improved in such a manner that an electronic device is manufactured using a silicon carbide single crystal wafer having a low density of threading dislocations with large distortion. Accordingly, a high-quality silicon carbide single crystal wafer can be provided.
A silicon carbide single crystal epitaxial wafer according to a third aspect of the present disclosure includes: a silicon carbide single crystal substrate; and an epitaxial growth layer arranged at the silicon carbide single crystal substrate. Additionally, each of the silicon carbide single crystal substrate and the epitaxial growth layer includes threading dislocations, and each of the threading dislocations has a dislocation line extending through a C-plane and a Burgers vector including at least a component in a C-axis direction. Moreover, a density of the threading dislocations having angles, each of which is formed by an orientation of the Burgers vector and an orientation of the dislocation line, larger than 0° and within 40° is set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and a density of the threading dislocations having the angles larger than 40° is set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less.
Device characteristics can be improved in such a manner that an electronic device is manufactured using a silicon carbide single crystal epitaxial wafer having a low density of threading dislocations with large distortion. Accordingly, a high-quality silicon carbide single crystal epitaxial wafer can be provided.
An electronic device according to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure includes: a silicon carbide single crystal substrate including having dislocations. Each of the threading dislocations has a dislocation line extending through a C-plane and a Burgers vector including at least a component in a C-axis direction. In addition, a density of the threading dislocations of the silicon carbide single crystal substrate having angles, each of which is formed by an orientation of the Burgers vector and an orientation of the dislocation line, larger than 0° and within 40° is set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and a density of the threading dislocations of the silicon carbide single crystal substrate having the angles larger than 40° is set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less.
An electronic device according to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure includes: a silicon carbide single crystal substrate; and an epitaxial growth layer arranged at the silicon carbide single crystal substrate. In addition, each of the silicon carbide single crystal substrate and the epitaxial growth layer includes threading dislocations, and each of the threading dislocations has a dislocation line extending through a C-plane and a Burgers vector including at least a component in a C-axis direction. Moreover, a density of the threading dislocations having angles, each of which is formed by an orientation of the Burgers vector and an orientation of the dislocation line, larger than 0° and within 40°, is set to 300 dislocations/cm' or less, and a density of the threading dislocations having the angles larger than 40° is set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less.
Since the electronic device includes the silicon carbide single crystal substrate or each of the silicon carbide single crystal substrate and the epitaxial growth layer having a low density of threading dislocations with large distortion, the device characteristics can be improved, as compared to a case of a high density of threading dislocations with large distortion.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be hereinafter described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same elements or related elements may be denoted by the same reference numeral. In the case of indicating crystal orientation, a bar (−) should be originally attached above a desired number, but because the restricted expression is restricted based on electronic applications, the bar is attached in front of the desired number in the present specification.
(First Embodiment)
The present embodiment describes a SiC single crystal epitaxial wafer and a MOS capacitor manufactured using the SiC single crystal epitaxial wafer.
As illustrated in
The wafer 1 to be used may have a diameter of 100 mm or more, or about 150 mm or more. The wafer 1 preferably has a micropipe density of less than 1/cm2, a threading edge dislocation density of less than 3000/cm2, a stacking fault density of less than 0.1/cm2, and an inclusion density of less than 1 cm3.
As illustrated in
The MOS capacitor 10 is manufactured by forming the oxide film 4 on the surface la of the wafer 1 illustrated in
As illustrated in
Herein, the C-plane is a {0001} plane, and the C-axis is a <0001> axis. The Burgers vector including at least a component in a C-axis direction means a case where the Burgers vector includes only the component in the taxis direction and a case where the Burgers vector includes the component in the C-axis direction and components in other axis directions. Examples of the case where the Burgers vector includes the component in the C-axis direction and components in other axis directions include bv=a+c, bv=m+c, and bv=2a+c. In these equations, “bv” represents a Burgers vector, “a” represents a vector in a ⅓<11-20> direction, “c” represents a vector in a <0001> direction, and “m” represents a vector in a <1-100> direction.
As illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the single crystal substrate 2 and the epilayer 3 have a density of threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 each made between the orientation of the Burgers vector by and the orientation of the dislocation line are larger than 0° and within 40° (0°<θ1≤40°), the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and a density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 40° (θ1 >40°), the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less. Preferably, the single crystal substrate 2 and the epilayer 3 have a density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are within 20° (0°<θ1≤20°), the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and a density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 20° (θ1 >20°), the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less. More preferably, the single crystal substrate 2 and the epilayer 3 have a density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are within 7° (0°<θ1≤7°), the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and a density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 7° (θ1 >7°), the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less. The angle θ1 larger than 0° and within 40°″ refers to angles that satisfy a requirement for the angle θ1 that is larger than 0° and within 40°. The angles θ1 may not necessarily be even but may be uneven. The same applies to angles θ1 within 20° or 7°.
The Burgers vector by can be determined by a large-angle convergent-beam electron diffraction (LACBED) method. For example, when a defocused electron beam is projected to a specimen, distortion around a dislocation splits a higher-order Laue zone (HOLZ) line. The split HOLZ lines are then indexed by simulation. The Burgers vector by of the threading dislocation 20 can be determined by the analysis of the indexes of the HOLZ lines and the number of split HOLZ lines.
The orientation of the dislocation line 21 is determined by a three dimensional (3D) observation method using a transmission electron microscope (TEM). While the inclination of a dislocation in a direction perpendicular to an electron beam incident direction can be evaluated in normal TEM observation, the inclination in a parallel direction cannot be evaluated. That is, the inclination of a dislocation within a plane parallel to the electron beam incident direction cannot be evaluated. Therefore, either the electron beam incident direction or the specimen is inclined to evaluate the inclination in a direction parallel to a predetermined incident direction.
For example, an observation of an electron beam diffraction image with an incident direction oriented to a [1-100] direction enables determination of an inclination angle from a <0001> axis in a [11-20] direction. The <0001> axis direction is determined from the electron beam diffraction image. The electron beam projection direction is then rotated 180° around the <0001> axis. This changes the inclination of the dislocation to be observed. The inclination in the [1-100] direction is calculated from the amount of this change.
The orientation of the dislocation line 21 can also be determined with the use of a photoluminescence device having a confocal function (3DPL) or a Raman spectrometer having a confocal function (3D Raman).
The angle made between the Burgers vector by and the dislocation line 21 is determined by a calculation method for calculating an angle between two vectors in a spatial figure.
The density of the threading dislocations 20 can be determined by counting the number of threading dislocations 20 that exist per an area of 1 cm2 in a predetermined plane of the SiC single crystal. For example, using molten salt containing KOH, the epilayer 3 is etched, and the number of threading dislocations 20 where substantially hexagonal etch pits are observed is counted with the use of a TEM or an optical microscope. A plane inclined at an angle of not more than 10° from the C-plane is used as the plane to be observed. The area to be observed has a size of 1 cm×1 cm. The area to be observed may have a size of 1 cm×1 cm or larger or a size of less than 1 cm×1 cm. If the area to be observed is not large enough, the dislocation density cannot be evaluated correctly. The area to be observed therefore preferably has the size of 1 cm×1 cm or larger.
As indicated by points P1 to P6 in
The Burgers vector by of the threading dislocations 20 in the wafers 1 represented by the points P1, P2, P4, P5, and P6 in
To measure the life of the MOS capacitors 10, a constant voltage was applied reversely to the MOS capacitors 10, and the time until the leak current increases to a predetermined level was measured.
The results of experiment shown in
As described above, the wafer 1 of the present embodiment has the density of the threading dislocations 20 which exist in the single crystal substrate 2 and the epilayer 3 and whose angles θ1 each made between the orientation of the Burgers vector by and the orientation of the dislocation line 21 are larger than 0° and within 40°, the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 40°, the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less. Preferably, the wafer 1 of the present embodiment has the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are within 20°, the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 20°, the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less. More preferably, the wafer 1 of the present embodiment has the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are within 7°, the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 7°, the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less.
As described above, the wafer 1 of the present embodiment has a low density of threading dislocations with large distortion. Therefore, by manufacturing MOS capacitors 10 using the wafer 1 of the present embodiment, the life of the MOS capacitors 10 can be made longer.
The MOS capacitor 10 of the present embodiment has the density of the threading dislocations 20 which exist in the single crystal substrate 2 and the epilayer 3 and whose angles θ1 each made between the orientation of the Burgers vector by and the orientation of the dislocation line 21 are larger than 0° and within 40°, the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 40°, the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less. Preferably, the MOS capacitor 10 has the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are within 20°, the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 20°, the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less. More preferably, the MOS capacitor 10 has the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are within 7°, the density being set to 300 dislocations/cm2 or less, and the density of the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 are larger than 7°, the density being set to 30 dislocations/cm2 or less.
As described above, the single crystal substrate 2 and the epilayer that constitute the MOS capacitor 10 have a low density of threading dislocations with large distortion. Therefore, the life of the MOS capacitor 10 can be made longer as compared to when the MOS capacitor has a high density of threading dislocations with large distortion. Namely, the device characteristics of the electronic device can be improved.
In the present embodiment, the surface 3a of the epilayer 3 in the wafer 1 and the MOS capacitor 10 has an off-angle set within 10° in the <11-20> direction with respect to the {0001} plane. The angle θ1 and the density of the threading dislocations 20 that reach this surface 3a are specified. This is because the influence of threading dislocations 20 with large distortion on device characteristics is considered to be particularly large when the threading dislocations 20 exist near the surface 3a of the epilayer 3. However, it is considered that the threading dislocations 20 with large distortion will adversely affect the device characteristics not only when the threading dislocations 20 exist near the surface 3a of the epilayer 3 but also when they exist in other portions than near the surface 3a of the epilayer 3. Therefore, the threading dislocations 20 whose angles θ1 and density are to be specified are not limited to those that exist in the epilayer 3 such as to reach the surface 3a.
While the wafers 1 of the present embodiment is manufactured according to the method described in Japanese Patent No. 3,745,668, the wafers may be manufactured according to other methods.
(Other Embodiments)
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above and can be changed as required without departing from the scope of the subject matter of the present disclosure as will be described below.
(1) In the first embodiment, the MOS capacitors 10 are one example of an electronic device manufactured using the SiC single crystal, and the life of the MOS capacitors 10 is examined. It is assumed that the results will be similar to
(2) In the first embodiment, the electronic device is manufactured using the SiC single crystal epitaxial wafer 1. Instead, the electronic device may be manufactured using a SiC single crystal wafer 101 illustrated in
The SiC single crystal wafer 101 has a low density of threading dislocations with large distortion similarly to the single crystal substrate 2 of the wafer 1 of the first embodiment. Therefore, by manufacturing an electronic device using the SiC single crystal wafer 101, the life of the electronic device can be made longer similarly to the first embodiment.
Preferably, a surface 101a of this SiC single crystal wafer 101 has an off-angle set within 10° in the <11-20> direction with respect to the {0001} plane, with the angle and the density being specified similarly to the first embodiment with respect to the threading dislocations 20 that reach this surface 101a.
The electronic device to be manufactured may have not only a structure that includes the SiC single crystal substrate and SiC epitaxial growth layer, but also a structure that includes the SiC single crystal substrate but does not include the epitaxial growth layer. Examples of an electronic device with a structure that does not include an epitaxial growth layer include the MOS capacitor 10 illustrated in
(3) The embodiments described above are not irrelevant to each other and can be combined as required except when the combination is obviously impossible. As will be understood, the elements constituting the embodiments described above are not necessarily essential unless explicitly specified as essential and unless considered clearly essential in theory.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2015-170814 | Aug 2015 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2016/074724 | 8/25/2016 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2017/038591 | 3/9/2017 | WO | A |
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