Properties and origins of different stacking faults that cause degradation in SiC PiN diodes.

The electrical degradation of 4H–SiC PiN diodes has recently attracted much interest and is a critical material problem for high power applications. The degradation is caused by stacking faults observed as an increased forward voltage drop after forward injection operation. In this article we have combined electrical, optical, and structural techniques to study the formation and growth of the stacking faults causing degradation. We will show three different sources causing two different types of stacking fault properties. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]