Patent Grant
11094835
The present application is based on PCT filing PCT/JP2018/005948, filed Feb. 20, 2018, which claims priority to JP 2017-062447, filed Mar. 28, 2017, the entire contents of each are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a silicon carbide substrate and a silicon carbide semiconductor device.
Silicon carbide (SiC) has superior thermal and chemical properties, and is known as a semiconductor material having superior electrical properties as it has a larger band gap than silicon (Si). In particular, 4H-SiC has high electron mobility and high saturated electron velocity, and thus has already been put to practical use as a semiconductor material for a power device.
A modified Lely method (sublimation) is currently widely used as a method of manufacturing an SiC single crystal. As for the size of an SiC substrate, the diameter thereof is currently up to 150 mm when it is commercially available, and is 200 mm at the stage of development. However, there has been a problem in that the SiC substrate has a high crystal defect density of several thousands to 10,000 cm2, and it is necessary to further decrease the crystal defect density to use it for a semiconductor device.
As a method of manufacturing an SiC single crystal having a low defect density, a method of performing crystal growth from liquid as in single crystal growth of an Si ingot is considered. Specifically, SiC is grown by dissolving carbon (C) in Si melt to crystallize SiC on a seed crystal of SiC. This method enables crystal growth with a supersaturation degree lower than that in sublimation as the crystal growth is performed from liquid, and is thus known as a method of manufacturing the SiC single crystal having a low defect density. In this method, however, an industrially-sufficient solubility of C, that is, growth rate of the SiC single crystal, can be obtained only under ultra-high temperature and a ultra-high pressure of approximately 100 atmospheres as the solubility of C in the Si melt is low, and thus this method is impractical.
It has been revealed that use of metal such as chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) dissolved, as a solute, in an Si solvent significantly improves the solubility of C in Si. As a result, a practical growth rate can be obtained even under ambient pressure at the growth near atmospheric pressure, and there have been numerous reports of a method of manufacturing, at a practical growth rate, the SiC single crystal having a low defect density whose threading dislocation density has been reduced to 10 cm−2 or less that is approximately one tenth to one hundredth of that of a conventional substrate manufactured by sublimation, as in Patent Document 1. At present, a solution growth method for SiC usually refers to this method.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-54815
In the solution growth method, metal solutes such as Cr added to an Si solvent to improve the solubility of C in Si are introduced into a grown SiC single crystal as metal impurities that are not dopants (hereinafter, referred to as “non-dopant metal impurities”). When a semiconductor device is manufactured using a substrate of the SiC single crystal containing the non-dopant metal impurities, the non-dopant metal impurities are discharged into a process device by etching, sublimation, or contact with a jig of the substrate during the process. As a result, the inside of the process device is contaminated by the non-dopant metal impurities, and degradation of device properties is induced.
The present invention has been conceived to solve the above-mentioned problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a silicon carbide substrate having a low defect density that does not contaminate a process device and a silicon carbide semiconductor device including the silicon carbide substrate.
A silicon carbide substrate according to the present invention is a silicon carbide substrate including: a substrate inner portion; and a substrate outer portion surrounding the substrate inner portion, wherein non-dopant metal impurity concentration of the substrate inner portion is 1×1016 cm−3 or more, and a region of the substrate outer portion at least on a surface side thereof is a substrate surface region in which the non-dopant metal impurity concentration is less than 1×1016 cm−3.
The silicon carbide substrate according to the present invention is a silicon carbide substrate including: a substrate inner portion; and a substrate outer portion surrounding the substrate inner portion, wherein non-dopant metal impurity concentration of the substrate inner portion is 1×1016 cm−3 or more, and a region of the substrate outer portion at least on a surface side thereof is a substrate surface region in which the non-dopant metal impurity concentration is less than 1×1016 cm−3. By reducing the non-dopant metal impurity concentration in the substrate surface region as described above, contamination of the process device of the device can be suppressed while reducing threading screw dislocation density of the silicon carbide substrate. The objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
<A-1. Silicon Carbide Substrate>
The substrate inner portion 11 is a single crystal substrate manufactured by a solution growth method using an Si solution to which Cr, which is non-dopant metal, has been added. The substrate outer portion 12 is a single crystal substrate covering the substrate inner portion 11 as a whole. An upper face of the silicon carbide substrate 10 is an Si face (0001) that is off in a [11-20] direction, for example.
The substrate inner portion 11 and the substrate outer portion 12 are each formed of 4H-type silicon carbide, but have different non-dopant metal impurity concentrations. The non-dopant metal impurity concentration of the silicon carbide substrate 10 changes in a direction from the center toward the surface of the silicon carbide substrate 10. In the present description, the surface of the silicon carbide substrate 10 includes the upper face, a lower face, and side faces of the silicon carbide substrate 10, and is also simply referred to as a “substrate surface”. For example, a direction from the center toward the upper face of the silicon carbide substrate 10 is an A-A′ direction of
The silicon carbide substrate 10 has, on a side of the surface thereof, a substrate surface region 13 in which the non-dopant metal impurity concentration is less than 1×1016 cm−3. The edge of the substrate surface region 13 opposite the substrate surface is herein defined as a starting point S of the substrate surface region 13 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “starting point S”). That is to say, the starting point S is a point at which the non-dopant metal impurity concentration turns from 1×1016 cm−3 or more to less than 1×1016 cm−3 when the silicon carbide substrate 10 is traced from the center to the surface thereof. The starting point S is in the substrate outer portion 12 or at the boundary between the substrate outer portion 12 and the substrate inner portion 11. That is to say, a region of the substrate outer portion 12 at least on the surface side is the substrate surface region 13.
The non-dopant metal impurity concentration of each of the substrate inner portion 11, the substrate outer portion 12, and the substrate surface region 13 may be uniform as shown in
As described above, the non-dopant metal impurity concentration in the substrate surface region 13 is set to be less than 1×1016 cm−3, but is more preferably set to be less than 5×1015 cm−3. One reason for reducing the non-dopant metal impurity concentration in the substrate surface region 13 is that contamination of the process device of the device is suppressed to thereby suppress degradation of device properties caused by the non-dopant metal impurities. To obtain an oxide film having high insulation reliability, for example, it is necessary to mix as few impurities, such as metal, as possible into the oxide film. Furthermore, mixture of any unexpected elements at formation of an electrode of the device can degrade the electrode due to alloying and the like. It is thus necessary to suppress contamination of the process device of the device.
Another reason for reducing the non-dopant metal impurity concentration in the substrate surface region 13 is that threading screw dislocation density of the silicon carbide substrate 10 is reduced. In a case where the non-dopant metal impurity is Cr, Cr substitutes for an Si atom in an SiC crystal, but has a larger atomic radius than Si. If Cr is mixed into the SiC crystal excessively, a change in lattice constant induces distortion inside the crystal, making crystal growth with a low threading screw dislocation density difficult. Threading screw dislocation can induce a leak current at application of a reverse voltage. If the non-dopant metal impurities are locally present at a high density, the induced distortion is concentrated, and not only an increase in threading screw dislocation density but also cracking and breakage in the crystal can be caused. For this reason, the non-dopant metal impurity density preferably has distribution.
The threading screw dislocation density is evaluated by an average value (hereinafter, referred to as “average threading screw dislocation density”) in a region occupying an area of 2.0% or more of a sample as a whole. The threading screw dislocation density in a local region of 1 mm×1 mm, for example, is measured first, and the average threading screw dislocation density is obtained, through calculation, from the measured value as obtained. Various methods such as X-ray topography and molten KOH etching can be used to measure the threading screw dislocation density in the local region.
The average threading screw dislocation density in the substrate surface region 13 is at least 100 cm−2 or less, is preferably 20 cm−2 or less, is more preferably 10 cm−2 or less, and most preferably 5 cm−2 or less. A lower average threading screw dislocation density suppresses degradation of the device properties caused by the threading screw dislocation more, and enables manufacture of a less degraded large-area device.
The local threading screw dislocation density of the silicon carbide substrate 10 measured first in evaluation of the average threading screw dislocation density may not be uniform and may have distribution in each of the substrate surface region 13, the substrate outer portion 12, and the substrate inner portion 11 in connection with distribution of the non-dopant metal impurities. The average threading screw dislocation density may differ among the substrate inner portion 11, the substrate outer portion 12 and the substrate surface region 13. The threading screw dislocation increases its density with increasing non-dopant metal impurity dens and can increase its density depending on temperature distribution at the crystal growth, a surface state of the seed crystal, and the like.
The starting point S of the substrate surface region 13 is in the substrate outer portion 12 or at the boundary between the substrate outer portion 12 and the substrate inner portion 11. The distance between the starting point S and the substrate surface is herein not necessarily to be uniform across the silicon carbide substrate 10 as a whole. That is to say, the distances of the upper face, the lower face, and the side faces of the silicon carbide substrate 10 from the starting point S may be different, and the distance from the starting point S on one surface of the silicon carbide substrate 10 may vary depending on an in-plane location. That is to say, the non-dopant metal impurity concentration may have distribution in a thickness direction of the substrate inner portion 11 or a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction, and, similarly, may have distribution in a thickness direction of the substrate outer portion 12 or the substrate surface region 13 or a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction. From the viewpoint of using the silicon carbide substrate 10 as a substrate for manufacturing a semiconductor device, however, a minimum value and a maximum value attributable to the following device process are determined as for the distance between the starting point S and the substrate surface.
Conditions that the distance between the starting point S and the substrate surface should meet will be described next.
There is no condition that the maximum value of the distance between the surface of the silicon carbide substrate 10 and the starting point S should meet from the viewpoint of the quality of the device. However, the thickness of the substrate outer portion 12 is preferably set to be as small as possible from the viewpoint of the time and cost to form the substrate outer portion 12. The distance between the starting point S and the substrate surface is thus set to be equal to or smaller than 300 times the thickness of the portion of the silicon carbide substrate 10 removed by etching before epitaxial growth of the drift layer 21. This is determined to be Condition (2).
In the process of manufacturing the semiconductor device, an oxide film, such as a thermal oxide film, is formed over the drift layer 21. An oxidation rate of SiC varies depending on surface orientation, and thus, if the thickness of the substrate surface region 13 is small relative to the oxide film, the substrate surface region 13 as a whole might be oxidized at any of the faces of the silicon carbide substrate 10 at the formation of the oxide film of the device. In this case, the substrate inner portion 11 is exposed by etching the oxide film using hydrogen fluoride (HF) and the like, and the effect of the present invention cannot be obtained. Thus, the distance between the starting point S and the substrate surface is set to be equal to or greater than 20 times the thickness of the thermal oxide filth of the device to be manufactured in a case where the upper face 14 of the silicon carbide substrate 10 is an Si face (0001), and is set to be equal to or greater than five times the thickness of the thermal oxide film of the device to be manufactured in a case where the upper face 14 of the silicon carbide substrate 10 is a C face (000-1). This is determined to be Condition (3).
In
In summary, conditions that the distance between the starting point S of the substrate surface region 13 and the surface of the silicon carbide substrate 10 should meet are basically Conditions (1) to (3), and Condition (4) is added in a case where the lower face 15 is machined during the device process. The distances of the upper face 14, the lower face 15, and the side faces 16 of the silicon carbide substrate 10 from the starting point S of the substrate surface region 13 may not be identical.
In a case where the minimum value of the distance between the surface of the silicon carbide substrate 10 and the starting point S of the substrate surface region 13 differs among Conditions (1), (3), and (4), the largest value from among the minimum values specified by these conditions is used. In a case where the maximum value of the distance between the surface of the silicon carbide substrate 10 and the starting point S of the substrate surface region 13 differs between Conditions (2) and (4), the largest value from among the maximum values specified by these conditions is used.
A device manufacture region of each of the substrate inner portion 11, the substrate outer portion 12, and the substrate surface region 13 is a single crystal. A region other than the device manufacture region of each of the substrate inner portion 11, the substrate outer portion 12, and the substrate surface region 13 is not required to be a single crystal.
The substrate inner portion 11 and the substrate outer portion 12 may differ in dopant concentration or lattice constant. The dopant concentration of the substrate inner portion 11 and the substrate outer portion 12, however, is adjusted so that the substrate inner portion 11 and the substrate outer portion 12 each have a volume resistivity of 25 m Ωcm or less, preferably 20 m Ωcm or less, and more preferably 16 m Ωcm or less. This enables suppression of resistance at the manufacture of a vertical electronic device, and thus enables manufacture of a low-loss device. As a dopant, nitrogen can be used for N-type, and Al can be used for P-type.
<A-2. Method of Manufacturing Silicon Carbide Substrate>
A first method of manufacturing the silicon carbide substrate 10 will be described using
First, the substrate inner portion 11 is manufactured by the solution growth method. Specifically, a seed crystal of 4H-SiC is put into the Si solution to which Cr, which is the non-dopant metal, has been added, and the temperature of the seed crystal is kept at 1820° C. The crystal growth is performed from the Si face of the seed crystal, and a 4H-SiC single crystal having a thickness of 0.7 mm can be obtained in six hours. The average threading screw dislocation density of a portion grown by the solution growth method as evaluated by the X-ray topography is herein 3 cm−2. Cr concentration at the surface of the crystal as detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is 3.3×1015 cm−2. Furthermore, Cr volume concentration in a region from the surface to the depth of 3 μm of the crystal as measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) is 1.1×1016 cm−3.
The seed crystal is removed from the 4H-SiC single crystal by machining, such as grinding, so that only the portion grown by the solution growth method remains. A free-standing single crystal substrate thus obtained is the substrate inner portion 11.
Next, the substrate outer portion 12 is epitaxially grown on the substrate inner portion 11 by the CVD. Specifically, the substrate outer portion 12 is epitaxially grown on the C face and the side faces of the substrate inner portion 11 by first epitaxial growth, and the substrate outer portion 12 is epitaxially grown on the Si face and the side faces of the substrate inner portion 11 by second epitaxial growth. The silicon carbide substrate 10 is thus obtained. The thickness of the substrate outer portion 12 is 20 μm at each of the C face and the Si face of the silicon carbide substrate 10, and is approximately 30 μm at the side faces of the silicon carbide substrate 10. The C face and the Si face each have undergone CMP before the epitaxial growth.
The Cr concentration at the surface of the substrate outer portion 12 as evaluated by the ICP-MS is 7.5×1012 cm−2. The Cr concentration in a region from the surface to the depth of 3 μm of the substrate outer portion 12 as analyzed by the SIMS is 7.4×1013 cm−3, which is sufficiently low concentration. Furthermore, the Cr concentration of the substrate outer portion 12 as a whole is less than 1×1016 cm−3, and it has been confirmed that the substrate outer portion 12 as a whole is the substrate surface region 13. The average threading screw dislocation density in the substrate surface region 13 as evaluated by the X-ray topography is 3 cm−2 as in the substrate inner portion 11.
The substrate outer portion 12 is formed by the epitaxial growth performed twice by the CVD in the present embodiment, but the number of times the growth is performed may be selected as appropriate depending on a growth condition and a device structure. For example, according to a structure in which the drift layer 21 doubles as a portion of the substrate outer portion 12 on a side of the upper face 14, the number of times the epitaxial growth is performed to manufacture the device can be reduced.
A second method of manufacturing the silicon carbide substrate 10 will be described next.
First, the substrate inner portion 11 is manufactured by the same method as in the first manufacturing method. The average threading screw dislocation density of the portion grown by the solution growth method as evaluated by the X-ray topography is 20 cm−2, which is higher than that of the substrate inner portion 11 manufactured by the first manufacturing method. The difference is considered to be due to a variation in temperature distribution at the crystal growth, the surface state of the seed crystal, or the defect density of the substrate inner portion 11. The Cr concentration at the surface of the substrate inner portion 11 as detected by the ICP-MS is 3.5×1015 cm−2. The Cr volume concentration in a region from the surface to the depth of 3 μm of the substrate inner portion 11 as evaluated by the SIMS is 1.2×1016 cm−3.
Next e substrate outer portion 12 is manufactured by the solution growth method. Specifically, a plurality of substrate inner portions 11 are put into a graphite crucible 31 filled with a pure Si solvent 32, as illustrated in
The Cr concentration at the surface of the substrate outer portion 12 as evaluated by the ICP-MS is 8.0×1012 cm−2. The Cr volume concentration in the region from the surface to the depth of 3 μm of the substrate outer portion 12 as evaluated by the SIMS is 7.6×1013 cm−3, and it has been confirmed that the Cr volume concentration is sufficiently low concentration. Furthermore, the Cr concentration of the substrate outer portion 12 as a whole is less than 1×1016 cm−3, and it has been confirmed that the substrate outer portion 12 as a whole is the substrate surface region 13. The average threading screw dislocation density in the substrate surface region 13 as evaluated by the X-ray topography is 1 cm−2.
In the above-mentioned description, the substrate inner portion 11 is heated to 1820° C., but any conditions relating to the growth, such as the temperature and a detailed structure of the crucible, can be modified as appropriate.
The method of manufacturing the substrate outer portion 12 by the CVD or the solution growth method has been described above, but the method of manufacturing the substrate outer portion 12 is not limited to these methods. For example, the substrate outer portion 12 can be manufactured by another method, such as close-spaced sublimation.
<A-3. Silicon Carbide Semiconductor Device>
The substrate inner portion 11 has been manufactured by the solution growth method, is the 4H-SiC single crystal having the Si face (0001) that is 4° off in the direction, and has a Cr concentration of 1.3×1016 cm−3, a threading screw dislocation density of 2.5 cm−2, and a thickness of 300 μm.
The substrate outer portion 12 is epitaxially grown around the substrate inner portion 11 by the CVD performed twice. Specifically, after the C face of the substrate inner portion 11 undergoes the CMP, the epitaxial growth is performed on the C face by the CVD to grow an epitaxial film having a thickness of 45 μm and a concentration of nitrogen as the dopant of 5.0×1018 cm−3. Then, the Si face of the substrate inner portion 11 undergoes the CMP, and the epitaxial growth is performed on the Si face by the CVD to grow an epitaxial film having a thickness of 15 μm and a concentration of nitrogen as the dopant of 3.8×1018 cm−3.
The Cr concentration in the region from the surface to the depth of 3 μm of the substrate outer portion 12 as analyzed by the SIMS is 8.0×1013 cm−3, and the average threading screw dislocation density at the Si face of the substrate outer portion 12 as evaluated by the X-ray topography is 2.5 cm−2 as in the substrate inner portion 11. The silicon carbide substrate 10 has a thickness of approximately 360 μm, and the substrate outer portion 12 has a thickness at an end face of approximately 20 μm.
Next, the Si face of the silicon carbide substrate 10 manufactured by the above-mentioned process is removed by approximately 50 nm by the H2 etching, and then an n-type drift layer 21 having a thickness of 11 μm and a nitrogen concentration of 1.0×1016 cm−3 is formed on the Si face. The concentration of nitrogen, which is the dopant, or a film thickness of the drift layer 21 may be selected as appropriate according to a designed breakdown voltage of the device to be manufactured.
P-type impurities are then ion implanted into an upper face of the drift layer 21 to form an anode layer and a terminal region 23. Implanted ions are Al, for example, and an implantation depth is approximately 0.1 μm to 3.0 μm. The impurity concentration of Al as ion implanted is 1×1018 cm−3 to 1×1021 cm−3, and is set to be higher than n-type impurity concentration of the drift layer 21. The anode layer 22 may be formed by epitaxially growing a p-type SiC layer on the drift layer 21.
Next, heat treatment is performed in an inert gas atmosphere at 1300° C. to 2000° C. for ten seconds to one hour to activate the anode layer 22 and the terminal region 23 formed by the ion implantation.
A protective film 24 made of silicon oxide is then formed by thermal oxidation and the CVD. Herein, the thickness of the protective film 24 formed by the thermal oxidation is 10 nm and the thickness of the protective film 24 formed by the CVD is 90 nm, and the total thickness is 100 nm. Next, photolithography is performed to provide an opening over the anode layer 22 by reactive ion etching (RIE) or etching using hydrogen fluoride (HF). In this case, a thermal oxide film having a thickness of approximately 50 nm has been formed on the C face of the silicon carbide substrate 10, which is opposite the face on which the protective film 24 has been formed, and a thermal oxide film having a thickness of approximately 45 nm has been formed on the side faces of the silicon carbide substrate 10. These thermal oxide films are sufficiently thinner than the substrate outer portion 12 so that, if the thermal oxide films are removed, the substrate outer portion 12 is not completely removed to expose the substrate inner portion
Next, a cathode electrode 25 to be in ohmic contact with the silicon carbide substrate 10 is formed by sputtering acid the like on the C face of the silicon carbide substrate 10, which is opposite the face on which the anode layer 22 is formed.
Then, an anode electrode 26 made of Ni and the like to be in ohmic contact with the anode layer 22 is formed at a predetermined location on a side of the surface of the anode layer 22. As a method of patterning the anode electrode 26 into a predetermined shape, a lift-off method of forming a metal film on a patterned resist mask by sputtering and the like, and then removing the resist mask and a portion of the metal film directly on the resist mask may be used, for example.
The PN diode according to Embodiment 1 as illustrated in
Embodiments of the present invention can be modified or omitted as appropriate within the scope of the invention. While the invention has been described in detail, the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and does not restrict the present invention. It is understood that numerous modifications not having been exemplified can be devised without departing from the scope of the present invention
10 silicon carbide substrate, 11 substrate inner portion, 12 substrate outer portion, 13 substrate surface region, 14 upper face, 15 lower face, 21 drift layer, 22 anode layer, 23 terminal region, 24 protective film, 25 cathode electrode, 26 anode electrode, 31 graphite crucible, 32 pure Si solvent
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| JP2017-062447 | Mar 2017 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/005948 | 2/20/2018 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/180013 | 10/4/2018 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6734461 | Shiomi | May 2004 | B1 |
| 9105756 | Ishibashi | Aug 2015 | B2 |
| 20060234058 | Ohmi et al. | Oct 2006 | A1 |
| 20090173997 | Fujihira | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| 20090283866 | Schulze | Nov 2009 | A1 |
| 20090302328 | Ohno | Dec 2009 | A1 |
| 20150132542 | Sun et al. | May 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1829830 | Sep 2006 | CN |
| 2015-54815 | Mar 2015 | JP |
| 2015-529016 | Oct 2015 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| International Search Report and Written Opinion dated Apr. 17, 2018 for PCT/JP2018/005948 filed on Feb. 20, 2018, 8 pages including English Translation of the International Search Report. |
| Office Action dated Nov. 3, 2020, in corresponding Chinese patent Application No. 201880019618.9, 17 pages. |
| Office Action dated Jun. 2, 2021, in corresponding Chinese patent Application No. 201880019618.9, 9 pages. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200013907 A1 | Jan 2020 | US |
