BUFFER LAYER ON SILICON CARBIDE SUBSTRATE, AND METHOD FOR FORMING BUFFER LAYER

Abstract

A buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate and a method of forming the same are disclosed. The buffer layer includes at least two layers of silicon carbide films, in which at least each lower one is doped at a top surface thereof with predetermined ions. As a result, at the top surface of the silicon carbide film, a barrier with different parameter is formed, which can block dislocation defects that have spread into the silicon carbide film from further upward propagation in the silicon carbide film.

Claims

1. A method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate, comprising: in a first step, forming a silicon carbide film on a surface of the silicon carbide substrate; in a second step, treating the surface of the silicon carbide film with predetermined ions so that a top doped region of the silicon carbide film close to a top surface of the silicon carbide film is doped with the predetermined ions, so as to increase concentration of the predetermined ions in the top doped region, the top doped region has a thickness of less than 10 nm, and the thickness of the top doped region is less than a thickness of the remaining portion of same silicon carbide film under the top doped region; in a third step, forming another layer of silicon carbide film on the silicon carbide film; and repeating the second and third steps at least once to successively form at least two layers of silicon carbide films which make up the buffer layer.

2. The method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate of claim 1, wherein the silicon carbide substrate is successively subject to the first to third steps within the same process chamber.

3. The method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate of claim 2, wherein the first step comprises forming the silicon carbide film by introducing a carbon-source gas and a silicon-source gas to the process chamber, and wherein the second step comprises stopping the introduction of the carbon-source gas and the silicon-source gas and then doping the top surface of the silicon carbide film by introducing a source of the predetermined ions to the process chamber, and wherein the third step comprises stopping the introduction of the source of the predetermined ions and then growing the other silicon carbide film by again introducing the silicon-source gas and the carbon-source gas.

4. The method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate of claim 1, wherein the predetermined ions are n-type dopant ions or p-type dopant ions.

5. The method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate of claim 4, wherein the n-type dopant ions are nitrogen ions or phosphorus ions and the p-type dopant ions are aluminum ions or boron ions.

6. The method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate of claim 1, wherein the silicon carbide film has a thickness of from 10 nm to 200 nm.

7. The method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate of claim 1, wherein the buffer layer has a thickness of from 200 nm to 1000 nm.

8. The method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate of claim 1, wherein the second and third steps are repeated at least twice or more times to form a plurality of layers of silicon carbide films.

9. A method of forming a silicon carbide epitaxial wafer, comprising: providing a silicon carbide substrate; successively forming at least two layers of silicon carbide films on the silicon carbide substrate using the method as defined in claim 1, which make up a buffer layer; and forming an epitaxial layer on the buffer layer.

10. A buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate formed using the method as defined in claim 1, wherein the buffer layer comprises at least two layers of silicon carbide films formed on the silicon carbide substrate, in adjacent layers of silicon carbide films, at least a top doped region of a lower one of the silicon carbide film close to a top surface of the silicon carbide film is doped with predetermined ions, so as to increase concentration of the predetermined ions in the top doped region, the top doped region has a thickness of less than 10 nm, and the thickness of the top doped region is less than a thickness of the remaining portion of the same silicon carbide film under the top doped region.

11. A silicon carbide epitaxial wafer comprising: a silicon carbide substrate; the buffer layer as defined in claim 10 on the silicon carbide substrate; and an epitaxial layer formed on the buffer layer.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram of a method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] FIGS. 3 to 5 are schematic diagrams showing structures formed in a method of forming a buffer layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] In these figures, 100-silicon carbide substrate; 200-buffer layer; 210-silicon carbide film; 210a-top doped region; 300-silicon carbide epitaxial layer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] As described in the Background section, when epitaxially growing a silicon carbide epitaxial layer directly on a silicon carbide substrate, dislocation defects in the silicon carbide substrate tend to spread into the silicon carbide epitaxial layer. In order to overcome this, a buffer layer may be disposed between the silicon carbide substrate and the silicon carbide epitaxial layer to prevent dislocation defects in the silicon carbide substrate from spreading into the silicon carbide epitaxial layer, resulting in higher quality of the resulting silicon carbide epitaxial layer. Specifically, the buffer layer may consist of an evenly and heavily doped silicon carbide layer. Although such a heavily doped buffer layer can block the propagation of dislocation defects to a certain extent, its ability to prevent that of threading dislocations is limited. Consequently, there will be still many threading dislocations in the resulting silicon carbide epitaxial layer.

[0021] To overcome this, the present invention provides a method of forming a buffer layer. The formed buffer layer includes at least two adjacent silicon carbide films formed over the silicon carbide substrate, in adjacent layers of silicon carbide films, at least a top doped region of a lower one of the silicon carbide film close to a top surface of the silicon carbide film is doped with predetermined ions. That is, the top surface of the silicon carbide film is doped with the predetermined ions to form the top doped region. The top doped region resulting from the doping has thin film parameters that are different from thin film parameters of the remaining portion thereunder and can function as a barrier that blocks further upward propagation of threading dislocation defects in the silicon carbide film.

[0022] Buffer layers on silicon carbide substrates and methods of formation thereof according to particular embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Advantages and features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description. Note that the figures are provided in a very simplified form not necessarily drawn to exact scale and for the only purpose of helping to explain the disclosed embodiments in a more convenient and clearer way.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the buffer layer 200 includes at least two adjacent layers of silicon carbide films 210 formed on the silicon carbide substrate 100, in the adjacent layers of silicon carbide films 210, at least a top doped region of a lower one of the silicon carbide film close to a top surface of the silicon carbide film is doped with predetermined ions. That is, in the adjacent layers of silicon carbide films 210, a top portion of at least each lower one is doped with the predetermined ions and thus converted into a top doped region 210a with an increased concentration of the predetermined ions. Moreover, for each silicon carbide film 210, a thickness of the top doped region 210a is less than a thickness of the remaining portion thereunder.

[0024] According to this embodiment, through doping the top surface of the silicon carbide film 210 with the predetermined ions, parameters of a top portion of the silicon carbide film 210 (i.e., the top doped region 210a) are modified. As a result, propagation paths in the silicon carbide film 210 for threading dislocation defects that have spread from the silicon carbide substrate 100 into the silicon carbide film 210 can be blocked at the top doped region 210a. For example, growth paths in the silicon carbide film 210 for threading dislocation defects that have spread from the silicon carbide substrate 100 into the silicon carbide film 210 are substantially vertical, and the presence of the top doped region 210a around the top surface can horizontally divert the vertical growth paths for the threading dislocation defects, thereby blocking further upward propagation of the threading dislocation defects.

[0025] It is to be noted that, in this embodiment, the top doped region 210a is formed by doping the top surface of the silicon carbide film 210, so that the top doped region 210a has a relatively small thickness. It will be recognized that an evenly doped silicon carbide layer formed directly by the combined use of a deposition process and in-situ doping usually has a thickness that cannot be reduced below 10 nm. However, in this embodiment, as the top doped portion is formed by doping with the predetermined ions after the silicon carbide film 210 is formed, it is possible to control the predetermined ions to be doped in the silicon carbide film 210 within a range from the top surface to a depth of less than 10 nm under the top surface. Therefore, the thickness of the resulting top doped region 210a can be controlled within 10 nm, e.g., 5 nm (in this case, the predetermined ions are doped in a range from the top surface to a depth of 5 nm under the top surface), or even 3 nm or less.

[0026] It is to be also noted that “doping the predetermined ions within a range from the top surface to a depth of less than 10 nm under the top surface” can be understood as doping the predetermined ions within the topmost two or more atomic layers of the silicon carbide film 210, i.e., doping the top surface of the silicon carbide film 210 with the predetermined ions in a substantially two-dimensional manner, which enables the top doped region 210a to have a thin thickness.

[0027] The inventors of the present invention have found from research that a single evenly doped silicon carbide layer with a relatively large thickness cannot block threading dislocations well. By contrast, according to this embodiment, the relatively thin top doped region 210a can effectively block threading dislocations, and at a given total thickness of the buffer layer 200, multiple such top doped regions 210a can be included to even better block threading dislocations.

[0028] The number of silicon carbide films 210 in the buffer layer 200 may be determined according to actual circumstances. For example, three to six layers of silicon carbide films 210 may be included, and top surfaces of all the other lower silicon carbide films than and under the topmost silicon carbide film 210 may be doped with the predetermined ions. Of course, a top surface of the topmost silicon carbide film 210 may also be doped with the predetermined ions. It will be recognized that the number of silicon carbide films 210 in the buffer layer 200 may be determined so as to enable blocking of all or many threading dislocation defects, and the present invention is not limited in this regard.

[0029] Additionally, the thickness of the buffer layer 200 is, for example, in the range of from 200 nm to 1000 nm, and five layers of silicon carbide films 210 may be included in the buffer layer 200. Thicknesses of the silicon carbide films 210 may be equal or not. In this embodiment, for example, the thicknesses of the silicon carbide films 210 may range from 10 nm to 200 nm. In a particular embodiment, when the thicknesses of the silicon carbide films 210 are 10 nm, for example, the thickness of the top doped region 210a may be about 3 nm, or even less than 3 nm.

[0030] The type of the predetermined ions may be determined according to actual circumstances. For example, when the silicon carbide film 210 is non-doped silicon carbide, the predetermined ions with which the top portion of the silicon carbide film 210 is doped may be n-type dopant ions or p-type dopant ions. Alternatively, when the silicon carbide film 210 is n-type lightly doped silicon carbide, the predetermined ions of which the top portion of the silicon carbide film 210 is doped may be n-type dopant ions. Still alternatively, when the silicon carbide film 210 is p-type lightly doped silicon carbide, the predetermined ions of which the top portion of the silicon carbide film 210 is doped may be p-type dopant ions. The n-type dopant ions include, but are not limited to, nitrogen ions, phosphorus ions, etc. The p-type dopant ions include, but are not limited to, aluminum ions, boron ions, etc.

[0031] As discussed above, before the silicon carbide film 210 is doped with the predetermined ions, the silicon carbide film 210 may be non-doped silicon carbide. In this case, after being doped with the predetermined ions, the remaining portion of the silicon carbide film 210 under the top doped region 210a will be non-doped silicon carbide. Alternatively, the portion of the silicon carbide film 210 under the top doped region 210a may be lightly doped with the predetermined ions. In this case, the top portion of the silicon carbide film 210 may be doped twice with the predetermined ions to form the top doped region 210a. Additionally, the number of predetermined ions per unit thickness in the top doped region 210a will be greater than in the remaining underlying portion.

[0032] In particular, the remaining portion of the silicon carbide film 210 underlying the top doped region 210a may be a non-doped monocrystalline silicon carbide layer (i.e., it is doped neither with the predetermined ions nor with other ions). Alternatively, the portion of the silicon carbide film 210 underlying the top doped region 210a may not be doped with the predetermined ions but with other ions such as, for example, other n-type dopant ions or p-type dopant ions. In this case, the portion of the silicon carbide film 210 underlying the top doped region 210a is either an n-doped silicon carbide layer or a p-doped silicon carbide layer.

[0033] Methods of forming the above-described buffer layers on silicon carbide substrates will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3 to 5. FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram of a method of forming a buffer layer on a silicon carbide substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 3 to 5 are schematic diagrams showing structures formed in a method of forming a buffer layer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] First of all, step S100 is performed, with particular reference to FIG. 3, in which a silicon carbide film 210 is formed on a surface of a silicon carbide substrate 100.

[0035] The silicon carbide substrate 100 may be in particular a monocrystalline silicon carbide substrate. Alternatively, the silicon carbide substrate 100 may be a heavily doped n-type silicon carbide substrate or a heavily doped p-type silicon carbide substrate.

[0036] The silicon carbide film 210 may be formed in particular by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. In particular, the formation of the silicon carbide film 210 may include: placing the silicon carbide substrate 100 in a process chamber (e.g., a CVD process chamber); and forming the silicon carbide film 210 by introducing a carbon-source gas and a silicon-source gas into the process chamber. In this process, a pressure in the process chamber is maintained, for example, in the range of 20 mbar to 150 mbar, and a temperature in the process chamber is maintained, for example, in the range of 1400° C. to 1700° C.

[0037] Additionally, the carbon-source gas may include, for example, at least one of methane, ethylene, acetylene and propane. The silicon-source gas may include, for example, at least one of dichlorosilane, trichlorosilane and tetrachlorosilane. The carbon-source gas is introduced, for example, at a flow rate of 10 sccm to 200 sccm. The silicon-source gas is introduced, for example, at a flow rate of 10 sccm to 100 sccm.

[0038] In particular embodiments, during the introduction of the carbon-source gas and the silicon-source gas, a hydrogen-source gas may be introduced to modify silicon carbide that has been grown to improve quality of the resulting silicon carbide film 210. Wherein, the hydrogen-source gas may include hydrogen and/or hydrogen chloride. Hydrogen maybe introduced, for example, at a flow rate of 10 sccm to 200 sccm. In this embodiment, the silicon carbide film 210 may be grown as a monocrystalline silicon carbide layer. Further, the single silicon carbide film 210 formed in the CVD process may have a thickness controlled within the range of 10 nm to 200 nm.

[0039] As noted above, the silicon carbide film 210 may be an n-type lightly doped silicon carbide film or a p-type lightly doped silicon carbide film. In the former case, during the CVD process, in addition to the silicon-source gas and the carbon-source gas, a source of n-type ions (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus trihydride or the like) may also be introduced. In this way, the n-type ions can be evenly doped in the resulting silicon carbide film 210. Likewise, when the grown silicon carbide film 210 is a p-doped silicon carbide film, during the CVD process, in addition to the silicon-source gas and the carbon-source gas, a source of p-type ions (e.g., trimethyl aluminum, boron trifluoride or the like) may also be introduced. In this way, the p-type ions can be evenly doped in the resulting silicon carbide film 210.

[0040] Of course, the silicon carbide film 210 may also be a non-doped silicon carbide layer, depending on the actual circumstances.

[0041] Next, step S200 is performed, with particular reference to FIG. 4, in which a surface of the silicon carbide film 210 is treated with predetermined ions so that a portion of the silicon carbide film 210 around the top surface is doped with the predetermined ions. As a result, the portion of the silicon carbide film 210 around the top surface is converted into a top doped region 210a with an increased concentration of the predetermined ions. A thickness of the top doped region 210a is less than 10 nm and is also less than a thickness of the remaining portion under the top doped region.

[0042] In addition, the surface treatment of the silicon carbide film 210 may be accomplished in the same process chamber where the growth of the silicon carbide film 210 is accomplished. That is, after a desired thickness of the silicon carbide film 210 has been reached on the silicon carbide substrate 100 that is placed in the process chamber, the introduction of the carbon-source gas and the silicon-source gas is stopped to prevent further growth of silicon carbide. A source of the predetermined ions is then introduced to the process chamber so that the predetermined ions act on the top surface of the silicon carbide film 210, achieving the top surface doping of the silicon carbide film 210. In practical use, a flow rate of the source of the predetermined ions and/or a surface treatment duration may be properly determined according to a required thickness of the top doped region 210a.

[0043] The doping process according to the present embodiment can not only avoid damage to the silicon carbide film 210 but also achieve two-dimensional doping of the top surface of the silicon carbide film 210. As a result, the predetermined ions can be controlled so as to be doped within a range in the silicon carbide film 210 from the top surface to a depth of less than 10 nm under the top surface. This allows the silicon carbide film 210 to have a reduced thickness.

[0044] In particular, the predetermined ions may be n-type dopant ions (in this case, a source of n-type ions is introduced) or p-type dopant ions (in this case, a source of p-type ions is introduced). More particularly, when the silicon carbide film 210 is an n-type lightly doped silicon carbide film, the predetermined ions are n-type ions. When the silicon carbide film 210 is a p-type lightly doped silicon carbide film, the predetermined ions are p-type ions.

[0045] In this embodiment, the predetermined ions are, for example, nitrogen ions. Accordingly, the source of the predetermined ions may be nitrogen. In this case, during the nitrogen-based surface treatment, nitrogen may be introduced at a flow rate of, for example, from 20 sccm to 2000 sccm, and the nitrogen-based surface treatment may last for 2 to 200 seconds. In practical use, the flow rate of nitrogen and the surface treatment duration may be determined according to a required thickness of the top doped region 210a.

[0046] Next, step S300 is performed, to form another silicon carbide film 210 over the aforementioned silicon carbide film. Particular reference may be made to FIG. 5. After step S200 is completed, the introduction of the source of the predetermined ions (e.g., nitrogen) may be stopped, and the silicon-source gas and the carbon-source gas may be again introduced to grow the other silicon carbide film 210.

[0047] After steps S200 and S300 are completed, two layers of silicon carbide films 210 are successively formed over the silicon carbide substrate 100, and the top surface of the lower silicon carbide film is two-dimensionally doped with the predetermined ions.

[0048] In particular embodiments, steps S200 and S300 may be repeated twice or more times to form two or more layers of silicon carbide films 210, with a total thickness of these layers of silicon carbide films 210 being controlled within the range of 200 nm to 1000 nm. An embodiment with five layers of silicon carbide films 210 being formed as shown in FIG. 5 will be described below as an example.

[0049] Further, in this embodiment, in the multiple layers of silicon carbide films 210, all the other silicon carbide films 210 than the topmost one are subject to a top surface treatment for two-dimensional doping of the predetermined ions. However, it will be recognized that, in alternative embodiments, the topmost silicon carbide film 210 may also be subject to such a surface treatment with the predetermined ions.

[0050] With continued reference to FIG. 1, a silicon carbide epitaxial layer 300 may be formed on the above-described buffer layer to prepare a silicon carbide epitaxial wafer with improved quality.

[0051] Specifically, the buffer layer 200 can provide a blocking effect on threading dislocation defects in the silicon carbide substrate 100. Even when such threading dislocation defects in the silicon carbide substrate 100 have spread into the buffer layer 200, barriers formed by the top surface portions of the silicon carbide film 210 that are doped with the predetermined ions can block additional upward propagation of the threading dislocation defects that have spread into one or more of the silicon carbide films into the overlying silicon carbide epitaxial layer 300 formed on the buffer layer 200, thus ensuring quality of the silicon carbide epitaxial layer 300.

[0052] Furthermore, the silicon carbide epitaxial layer 300 may be a lightly doped n-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer, or a lightly doped p-type silicon carbide epitaxial layer. Here, the term “lightly doped” means that an ion concentration of the silicon carbide epitaxial layer 300 is lower than an ion concentration of the silicon carbide substrate 100. The silicon carbide epitaxial layer 300 has a thickness of, for example, in the range of from 5 .Math.m to 1000 .Math.m.

[0053] It is to be understood that while the invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is not limited to these embodiments. In light of the above teachings, any person familiar with the art may make many possible modifications and variations to the disclosed embodiments or adapt them into equivalent embodiments, without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that any and all simple variations, equivalent changes and modifications made to the foregoing embodiments based on the substantive disclosure of the invention without departing from the scope thereof fall within this scope.

[0054] The relative terms “above”, “under”, “top”, “bottom”, “front”, “rear” and the like as used herein in connection with the orientation depicted in the accompanying drawings can be used to describe relationships between different components. These relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is inverted, an element described as “above” another element would then be oriented “under” the other element.