Effect of germanium doping on electrical properties of n-type 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layers grown by chemical vapor deposition

The effect of germanium (Ge) on n-type 4H-SiC is experimentally studied by electrical characterization of homoepitaxial layers grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Measurements show that electrical properties of epitaxial layers can be changed by intentional incorporation of germane (GeH4) gas during the deposition process. On the nanoscale, two-dimensional mappings acquired with conductive atomic force microscopy show preferential conductive paths on the surface of Gedoped samples, which are related to the presence of this isoelectronic impurity. Hall effect measurements confirm that also macroscopic electrical properties of n-type 4H-SiC are improved due to incorporation of Ge into SiC during CVD growth. In particular, despite equal free electron concentration, enhanced mobility in a wide temperature range is measured in Ge-doped samples as compared to a pure 4H-SiC layer. Based on our results from Hall effect measurements as well as admittance spectroscopy and deep level transient spectroscopy, it is speculated that Ge influences the generation and annealing of other point defects and thus helps to reduce the total concentration of defects.