Structural and electronic characterization of (2,3(3)) bar-shaped stacking fault in 4H-SiC epitaxial layers

Crystallographic, electronic, and energetic analyses of the (2,3(3)) [or (2,3,3,3) in the standard Zhadanov notation] bar-shaped stacking fault, observed in as-grown 4H-SiC epitaxial layers, are presented. The defect has been identified by means of spatially resolved microphotoluminescence (mu-PL) measurements at different emission wavelengths, focusing on the emission peak at 0.3 eV below the conduction band. Low temperature mu-PL measurements have also been performed. The defect has been identified and characterized using high resolution transmission electron microscopy. Experimental results are correlated and validated by the calculations of the Kohn-Sham electronic band structure and the defect formation energy. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3551542]