Imaging and dopant profiling of silicon carbide devices by secondary electron dopant contrast

In this paper, the secondary electron dopant contrast in scanning electron microscopy is proposed as the method of choice for dopant-imaging and profiling in silicon carbide devices. After reviewing the physical principles of the signal generation, the impact on the image quality of relevant factors such as experimental conditions, surface effects, and sample preparation is investigated. The quantitative capabilities of this technique are compared with the performance of the most advanced scanning probe methods. Particular attention is devoted to the quantitative delineation of electrical junctions and the two-dimensional dopant profiling of complex structures.