DEFECT REDUCTION IN BULK 6H-SIC

DUE TO ITS UNIQUE PROPERTIES AND ITS ABILITY TO BE PROCESSED ANALOGOUSLY TO SILICON, SILICON CARBIDE (SIC) WILL BE AN IMPORTANT HIGH TEMPERATURE, HIGH POWER, AND HIGH FREQUENCY ELECTRONIC MATERIAL. THE BARRIER TO THIS DEVELOPING TECHNOLOGY WAS THE AVAILABILITY OF 6H-SIC SUBSTRATES. HOWEVER, THESE SUBSTRATES ARE NOW PRODUCED IN EVER-INCREASING QUANTITIES AND THE NEW BARRIER IS THE QUALITY OF THESE SUBSTRATES. SYNCHROTRON WHITE BEAM X-RAY TOPOGRAPHY (SWBXT), AN INNOVATIVE AND NON-DESTRUCTIVE TECHNIQUE IN WHICH LOCAL DIFFERENCES IN DIFFRACTING POWER GIVE RISE TO IMAGE CONTRAST, IS UNIQUELY SUITED FOR DEFECT CHARACTERIZATION IN SIC. THE COMPREHENSIVE AND NONDESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF THIS TECHNIQUE MAKES IT AN OPTIMAL TOOL FOR RESEARCH AS WELL AS FOR QUALITY CONTROL IN A PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT.