High-concentration doping of donor and acceptor in fluorescent 4H-SiC by closed sublimation growth

As a potential material for white light source, high luminous efficiency of fluorescent SiC requires a concentration of higher than 1.0×1019 cm-3 for both the donor (Nd) and acceptor (Na) and a film thickness of about 120 μm. In this study, we focus on the epitaxial growth of fluorescent 4H-SiC by closed sublimation growth in terms of different growth temperatures to increase the doping concentration of boron and nitrogen. In addition, the effect of growth pressure on the surface morphology was investigated. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the sample grown at 1900 °C is higher than that grown at 1800 °C. This result indicates that a higher temperature of 1900 °C can increase the boron (B) and nitrogen (N) doping concentration. However, it was confirmed that the surface of the sample grown at 1900 °C was rough. The surface morphology was significantly improved with an increased pressure to 9000 Pa. Meanwhile, the growth time was extended to increase the film thickness, and the amount of BN, which is the doping source of B acceptor, was increased accordingly. As a result, strong PL emission intensity with high internal quantum efficiency (IQE) was successfully demonstrated in 4H-SiC sample, which is comparable to that in fluorescent 6H-SiC.