SCHOTTKY AND OHMIC CONTACTS FOR B-SILICON CARBIDE

HIGH POWER SEMICONDUCTORS USING SILICON AND GAAS ARE LIMITED TO ENVIRONMENTS THAT ARE LESS THAN 300 DEG C IN TEMPERATURE DUE TO LOW BANDGAPS, LOW BREAKDOWN FIELDS AND LOW THERMAL CONDUCTIVITIES. 3C-SIC(B-SIC) HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A MATERIAL WITH EXCELLENT POTENTIAL TO FULFILL THE REQUIREMENTS OF A HIGH POWER, HIGH TEMPERATURE SEMICONDUCTOR WITH HIGH RADIATION HARDNESS. THE KEY TO DEVELOPING DEVICES FOR B-SIC IS TO BE ABLE TO CONSISTENTLY PRODUCE INTRINSIC FILMS WITH VERY LOW DEFECTS AND TO DEVELOP SCHOTTKY AND OHMIC CONTACT MATERIALS THAT WILL WITHSTAND HARSH ENVIRONMENTS MUT BE IDENTIFIED. THESE DEVELOPMENTS WILL PERMIT COMPATIBILITY WITH SILICON TECHNOLOGIES AS WELL AS THE INTEGRATION OF B-SIC DEVICES INTO SILICON BASED DEVICES. ATM HAS DEVELOPED UNIQUE SINGLE SOURCE B-SIC DEPOSITION TECHNOLOGY THAT ADDRESSES THE THIN FILM PROBLEM, HOWEVER, CONTACTS REMAIN A MAJOR IMPEDIMENT TO DEVICE FABRICATION. IN PHASE I OF THIS PROGRAM DIFFERENT SCHOTTKY AND OHMIC MATERIALS WILL BE DEVELOPED AND CHARACTERISED. THE RESULTS WILL BE APPLIED TO THE FABRICATION OF A P-N JUNCTION WHICH FORMS THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCK OF EVERY SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES. PHASE II WILL THEN FOCUS ON OPTIMIZING THE PROCESSES AND ACTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF A DEVICE SUCH AS A FET, JFET, MESFET OR MOSFET.