Photoluminescence characterization of electrically active threading dislocation in semi-Insulating SiC substrates

HSIU-MING HSU^1*, Chi- Tsu Yuan¹, Irwan Saleh Kurniawan¹, Russel Cruz Serilla¹, Hsiu-Ying Huang¹, Ruth Jeane Sobroto¹

¹物理學系, 中原大學, 桃園, Taiwan

* Presenter:HSIU-MING HSU, email:ss0974010195@gmail.com

High-purity semi-insulating silicon carbide (HPSI-SiC) underpins emerging RF and power devices, yet the electronic influence of threading dislocations (TDs) remains elusive because of it's extremely low free-carrier density and prolific deep traps. This study establishes an optical, non-destructive strategy that selectively highlights electrically active TDs via near-resonant deep-level emission and interrogates their intrinsic electronic states. Individual TDs are first distinguished by etch-pit morphology; confocal deep-level emission spectromicroscopy then shows that only a small subset of screw-type dislocations emit mid-gap luminescence originating from core-localised states rather than impurity decoration. These optically active defects introduce a continuous band of deep levels capable of mediating trap-assisted leakage in devices. The proposed technique delivers rapid, one-to-one structural-electronic correlation, providing an efficient screening tool for identifying performance-limiting defects in HPSI-SiC substrates.

Keywords: threading dislocation, HPSI-SiC, electrically active