Search

Trimethylboron (TMB) was investigated as a p-type dopant source for the vapor–liquid–solid growth of boron-doped silicon nanowires (SiNWs). The boron concentration in the nanowires was measured using secondary ion mass spectrometry and results were compared for boron-doping using TMB and diborane (B2H6) sources. Boron concentrations ranging from 1×1018 to 4×1019cm−3 were obtained by varying the inlet dopant∕SiH4 gas ratio. TEM characterization revealed that the B2H6-doped SiNWs consisted of a crystalline core with a thick amorphous Si coating, while the TMB-doped SiNWs were predominantly single crystal even at high boron concentrations. The difference in structural properties was attributed to the higher thermal stability and reduced reactivity of TMB compared to B2H6. Four-point resistivity and gate-dependent conductance measurements were used to confirm p-type conductivity in the TMB-doped nanowires and to investigate the effect of dopant concentration on nanowire resistivity.

Chemical elemental analysis, temperature-dependent Hall measurements, deep-level transient spectroscopy, and contactless resistivity mapping were performed on undoped semi-insulating (SI) and lightly nitrogen-doped conducting 6H-SiC crystals grown by physical vapor transport (PVT). Resistivity maps of commercial semi-insulating SiC wafers revealed resistivity variations across the wafers between one and two orders of magnitude. Two major types of variations were identified. First is the U-shape distribution with low resistivity in the center and high in the periphery of the wafer. The second type had an inverted U-shape distribution. Secondary-ion-mass spectrometry measurements of the distribution of nitrogen concentration along the growth axis and across the wafers sliced from different locations of lightly nitrogen-doped 6H–SiC boules were conducted. The measured nitrogen concentration gradually decreased along the growth direction and from the center to the periphery of the wafers. This change gives rise to the U-like distribution of resistivity in wafers of undoped SI-SiC. The concentrations of deep electron traps exhibited similar dependence. Compensation of nitrogen donors by these traps can result in the inverted U-like distribution of resistivity. Possible reasons for the observed nonuniformities include formation of a (0001) facet in PVT growth coupled with orientation-dependent nitrogen incorporation, systematic changes of the gas phase composition, and increase of the deposition temperature during boule growth.