Ultrahigh Quality, Single-Crystal Bulk Silicon Carbide

Silicon carbide materials will revolutionize semiconductor devices for military and commercial markets. The material's wide bandgap, high electric field breakdown, high thermal conductivity give SiC capabilities that far exceed those of silicon or gallium arsenide. Despite significant progress in silicon carbide development, fundamental defects--most prominently micropipes--persist. If SiC is to support next-generation devices, improvement to SiC wafer quality is essential. This Phase I SBIR proposes novel starting materials and unique process conditions for bulk SiC growth. Higher quality, larger area SiC than currently exists would provide a dramatic boost for the development of high power switches, high temperature electronics, and blue emitters for high density memory, chemical detection, and ultraviolet detectors.