Epitaxial thin film growth and device development in monocrystalline alpha and beta silicon carbide

Recent advances, especially in the areas of single-crystal boule and thin-film growth, device fabrication, and characterization, are reviewed. Bulk single crystals of 6H-SiC have been grown to 2.37-cm diameter using seeded sublimation. Monocrystalline thin films of high-purity β-SiC have been grown directly on Si(100) and 6H-SiC(0001). Problems derived primarily from interface related defects and subboundaries in the material have prevented the optimization of the quality of the films. However, deposition on these materials oriented 2°-4° off-axis allows the elimination of some defects. Considerable progress in the understanding of the surface science, ohmic and Schottky contacts and dry etching has recently been made. The combination of these advances has allowed continual improvements in SiC devices, including 6H-SiC p-n junction diodes and MOSFETs that can operate at temperatures as high as 923 K, and high power MESFETs that can operate at frequencies over 1.0 GHz