Post-implantation annealing in a silane ambient using hot wall CVD

Post-implant annealing of Al implanted 4H-SiC has been performed in the temperature range from 1600 degrees C to 1750 degrees C. Annealing was conducted in a hot-wall CVD reactor using a silane-rich ambient. Ar was used as the carrier gas to deliver the silane to the annealing zone where the sample was heated via RF induction. The resulting annealed surfaces exhibited a step-bunch free, smooth morphology when viewed on SEM and AFM. The maximum surface roughness as measured via AFM was 0.65 nm RMS for the sample annealed at 1750 degrees C.