Studies of the effect of proton irradiation on 6H-SiC pn junction properties

The influence of proton irradiation on current–voltage characteristics, Nd–Na values and parameters of deep centres in 6H-SiC pn junctions has been studied. The irradiation was carried out with 8-MeV protons with doses from 1014 to 1016 cm−2. Irradiation with a dose of 5.4×1015 cm−2 resulted in a very high resistance of forward-biased pn structures, remaining high even after anneling to 500°C. It is suggested that proton irradiation reduces the holes lifetime and increases the concentration of deep centers, which leads to formation of an i-layer.