Electrical activation of the ion-implanted phosphorus in 4H-SiC by excimer laser annealing

We developed the annealing method for the activation of the ion-implanted dopants in silicon carbide using excimer laser irradiation. The electrical activation efficiency of the dopants drastically improved while the substrate temperature was kept in the range of 500-700 degreesC during laser irradiation. A multiple energy irradiation method realized the annealing of the implanted layer without ablation of the surface atoms and without redistribution of the dopants that were usually observed in the case of furnace annealing above 1500 degreesC. We have obtained a very low sheet resistance R-s, namely, 164.7 Omega/square, of the phosphorus ion-implanted layer in 4H-SiC by excimer laser annealing. This value is comparable to that of the furnace-annealed substrate at 1500 degreesC. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.