5 MeV proton and 15 MeV electron radiation effects study on 4H-SiC nMOSFET electrical parameters

The impact of proton and electron irradiations on the electrical parameters of 4H-SiC nMOSFETs has been investigated by the time bias stress instability method. This study has allowed observing the effect of holes trapped in the gate oxide together with the generated interface traps. Improvements of important electrical parameters, such as the threshold voltage, the effective mobility and the maximum drain current were observed. These improvements could be connected with the Nitrogen and residual Hydrogen atoms diffusion from SiO 2 /SiC the interface toward the epilayer during irradiation. These atoms are likely to create other bonds by occupying the Silicon and Carbon's dangling bond vacancies. This way, the number of passivated Carbon atoms is increased, hence improving the SiO 2 /SiC interface quality.

[1]  J. Aitken Radiation-induced trapping centers in thin silicon dioxide films , 1980 .

[2]  A.B. Joshi,et al.  Hot-carrier-stress effects on gate-induced drain leakage current in n-channel MOSFETs , 1991, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[3]  D. Fleetwood,et al.  Microscopic nature of border traps in MOS oxides , 1994 .

[4]  Chimoon Huang,et al.  Mechanisms of interface trap-induced drain leakage current in off-state n-MOSFET's , 1995 .

[5]  Seiichi Iwata,et al.  Electron spectroscopic analysis of the SiO2/Si system and correlation with metal–oxide–semiconductor device characteristics , 1996 .

[6]  A. Schamlott,et al.  The Rossendorf radiation source ELBE and its FEL projects , 2000 .

[7]  Pantelides,et al.  Bonding arrangements at the Si-SiO2 and SiC-SiO2 interfaces and a possible origin of their contrasting properties , 2000, Physical review letters.

[8]  Juin J. Liou,et al.  A review of recent MOSFET threshold voltage extraction methods , 2002, Microelectron. Reliab..

[9]  R. Yakimova,et al.  Radiation hardness of wide-gap semiconductors (using the example of silicon carbide) , 2002 .

[10]  A. Agarwal,et al.  SiC power-switching devices-the second electronics revolution? , 2002, Proc. IEEE.

[11]  A. Prakash,et al.  High-energy radiation effects on subthreshold characteristics, transconductance and mobility of n-channel MOSFETs , 2003 .

[12]  L. Johansson,et al.  Synchrotron radiation studies of the SiO2 /SiC(0001) interface , 2004 .

[13]  A. Henry,et al.  Deep levels created by low energy electron irradiation in 4H-SiC , 2004 .

[14]  H. Zirath,et al.  High field-effect mobility in n-channel Si face 4H-SiC MOSFETs with gate oxide grown on aluminum ion-implanted material , 2005, IEEE Electron Device Letters.

[15]  S. Dhar,et al.  Suppression of interface state generation upon electron injection in nitrided oxides grown on 4H-SiC , 2007 .

[16]  J. Suehle,et al.  Time Dependence of Bias-Stress-Induced SiC MOSFET Threshold-Voltage Instability Measurements , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[17]  Phillippe Godignon,et al.  Benefit of H2 surface pretreatment for 4H-SiC oxynitridation using N2O and rapid thermal processing steps , 2009 .

[18]  M. Placidi,et al.  Effects of Photons on 4H-SiC Rapid Thermal Oxidation Using Nitrous Oxide Gas , 2010 .

[19]  SiC oxidation processing technology for mosfet devices fabrication , 2011 .

[20]  P. Hazdra,et al.  Radiation Defects Produced in 4H-SiC Epilayers by Proton and Alpha-Particle Irradiation , 2013 .

[21]  M. Alexandru,et al.  10 MeV Proton Irradiation Effect on 4H-SiC nMOSFET Electrical Parameters , 2014 .