Thermal stability of deep levels between room temperature and 1500 °C in as-grown 3C-SiC

We report on the thermal stability of deep levels detected in as-grown bulk 3C-SiC. The investigation was performed by Fourier-transform deep level transient spectroscopy and an isochronal annealing series was carried out in the 100-1500 degrees C temperature range. We found three traps located between 0.14-0.50 eV below the conduction band edge minimum (E-C). The shallower trap anneals out at temperatures below 1200 degrees C while the others display a high thermal stability up to at least 1500 degrees C. The nature of the former trap is discussed in detail on the basis of its annealing behavior and previous theoretical data found in the literature. (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3243086]