Activation of impurity atoms in 4H-SiC wafer by atmospheric pressure thermal plasma jet irradiation

Abstract

High temperature annealing of 4H-silicon carbide (SiC) wafers was performed by atmospheric-pressure thermal-plasma-jet (TPJ) irradiation. A maximum surface temperature of 1835°C within 2.4 second without sample breakage was achieved, and aluminum (Al), phosphorus (P), and arsenic (As) activations in 4H-SiC wafers were demonstrated. We have investigated the effects of heating rate (R_h) and cooling rate (R_c) during rapid annealing of P-implanted 4H-SiC on the activation efficiency. No dependence of resistivity on R_h was observed, while increasing Rc significantly decreased resistivity. The minimum resistivity of 0.0025 Ω·cm, the maximum electron concentration of 2.9 × 10²⁰ cm^-3, respectively, were obtained under R_c = 568 °C /s.