4H SiC epitaxial growth with chlorine addition

The growth rate of a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer has been increased by a factor of 19 (up to 112 mu m h(-1)) with respect to the standard process, with the introduction of HCl in the deposition chamber. The epitaxial layers grown with the addition of HCl has been characterized by electrical, optical, and structural characterization methods. The effects of various deposition parameters on the epitaxial growth process have been described, and an explanation of this behavior in terms of the diffusion coefficient on the surface, D-s, and the ratio between the characteristic times, tau(D):tau(G), has been provided. The diodes, manufactured on the epitaxial layer grown with the addition of HCl at 1600 degrees C, have electrical characteristics comparable with the standard epitaxial process. This process is very promising for high-power devices with a breakdown voltage of 10 kV.