Relationship between 4H-SiC/SiO2 transition layer thickness and mobility

The interfacial region between silicon carbide (SiC) and its native oxide contains a high density of interfacial traps, which is considered a major problem leading to a lower mobility that has hindered SiC metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors from reaching their theoretical expectations. We investigate the microstructure and chemistry of the 4H-SiC/SiO2 interface due to variations in nitric oxide annealing and aluminum implantation using Z-contrast imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy. A transition layer with a carbon to silicon ratio greater than 1 is consistently observed on the SiC side of the interface in each of these samples, and the width of this transition layer is found to be inversely related to the effective channel mobility measured on fabricated devices.