Nitrogen passivation by implantation-induced point defects in 4H–SiC epitaxial layers

Ion implantation causes damage to the crystal lattice resulting in the loss of free charge carriers. In this study, low dose implantations using different ions and implantation doses are made to resolve the initial carrier loss in nitrogen-doped epitaxial layers. A strong dependence of compensation on nitrogen concentration is seen, showing that nitrogen is passivated by implantation-induced point defects. An activation energy of 3.2 eV for the dissociation of the passivated nitrogen center is obtained.