6H-SiC p+-n junctions fabricated by beryllium implantation

The use of beryllium (Be) as an alternate p-type dopant for implanted silicon carbide (SiC) p⁺-n junctions is experimentally demonstrated. The implanted layers have been characterized with photoluminescence (PL) as well as secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) measurements. In comparison with boron implanted p ⁺-n junctions, Be-implanted junctions show improvement in the forward characteristics while exhibiting slightly higher reverse leakages. The activation energies extracted from the forward conduction and reverse leakage characteristics of the Be-diodes are 1.5 eV, and 0.13 eV, respectively. Moreover, activation energy extraction in the forward ohmic region reveals the Be impurity level at 0.38±0.04 eV. The minority carrier lifetime extracted from reverse recovery measurements is as high as 160 ns for the Be-diodes compared to 82 ns obtained for the B-diodes