Diffusion and impurity segregation in hydrogen-implanted silicon carbide

Diffusion and segregation behavior of hydrogen and oxygen in silicon carbide subjected to H implantation and subsequent annealing were studied with a number of analytical techniques including Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS), Rutherford backscattering spectrometry in channeling geometry, field emission scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy. H+ implantation was carried out with energies of 200 keV, 500 keV, or 1MeV to doses of 1 x 10(16), 1 x 10(17), or 2 x 10(17) ion/cm(2), and thermal treatment was conducted in flowing argon for 1 to 2 h at temperatures of 740, 780, 1000, or 1100 degrees C. The process of migration and eventual loss of hydrogen in a point defect regime is postulated to proceed to a large extent through ionized vacancies. This conclusion was derived from the observed substantial difference in H mobilities in n-vs. p-type SiC as the population of ionized vacancies is governed by the Fermi-Dirac statistics, i.e., the position of the Fermi level. For higher doses, a well defined buried planar zone forms in SiC at the maximum of deposited energy, comprising numerous microvoids and platelets that are trapping sites for hydrogen atoms. At a certain temperature, a more or less complete exfoliation of the implanted layer is observed. For a 1MeV implant heated to 1100 degrees C in nominally pure argon, SIMS profiling reveals a considerable oxygen peak of 10(16) O atoms/cm(2) situated at a depth close to that of the peak of the implanted H+. Similarly, 1100 degrees C annealing of a 200 keV implant induces the formation of a thin oxide (4 nm), located at the interface between the implanted layer and the substrate as evidenced by both SIMS and HRTEM. The measurements were taken on the part of the sample that remained un-exfoliated. In view of a lack of convincing evidence that a hexagonal SiC might contain substantial amounts of oxygen, further investigation is under way to elucidate its presence in the irradiation-damaged films. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.