Structural study of single Shockley stacking faults terminated near substrate/epilayer interface in 4H-SiC

Abstract Structural analysis is carried out of a single Shockley stacking fault (1SSF) that terminates near the substrate/epilayer interface and originally expanded from a basal plane dislocation (BPD) segment near the epilayer surface of 4H-SiC. The characteristic zigzag structure is found for the partial dislocations (PDs), with microscopic connecting angles of almost 120°. It has been suggested that the microscopic construction of PDs might be limited by the Peierls valley. The termination line near the substrate/epilayer interface was found to have 30° Si-core and 90° Si-core PDs. This combination is the same as that found near the surface of the epilayer in commonly observed 1SSFs. Penetrating BPDs of this kind were also found experimentally for the first time. For the currently proposed charts for the 1SSF expansions, photoluminescence imaging during UV illumination is one of the nondestructive analysis methods that can provide the structural information and expected expansion shapes of the 1SSFs.