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DOE OSTI2016

Specific features of the current–voltage characteristics of SiO{sub 2}/4H-SiC MIS structures with phosphorus implanted into silicon carbide

The effect of phosphorus implantation into a 4H-SiC epitaxial layer immediately before the thermal growth of a gate insulator in an atmosphere of dry oxygen on the reliability of the gate insulator is studied. It is found that, together with passivating surface states, the introduction of phosphorus ions leads to insignificant weakening of the dielectric breakdown field and to a decrease in the height of the energy barrier between silicon carbide and the insulator, which is due to the presence of phosphorus atoms at the 4H-SiC/SiO{sub 2} interface and in the bulk of silicon dioxide.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2017

Structural and optical properties of silicon-carbide nanowires produced by the high-temperature carbonization of silicon nanostructures

Silicon-carbide (SiC) nanowire structures 40–50 nm in diameter are produced by the high-temperature carbonization of porous silicon and silicon nanowires. The SiC nanowires are studied by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and infrared reflectance spectroscopy. The X-ray structural and Raman data suggest that the cubic 3C-SiC polytype is dominant in the samples under study. The shape of the infrared reflectance spectrum in the region of the reststrahlen band 800–900 cm{sup –1} is indicative of the presence of free charge carriers. The possibility of using SiC nanowires in microelectronic, photonic, and gas-sensing devices is discussed.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2018

Intercalation of C{sub 60} Fullerene Molecules under Single-Layer Graphene on Molybdenum Carbide

It is shown that heating of a fullerite film several monomolecular layers thick deposited onto single-layer graphene formed on a substrate of molybdenum carbide Mo{sub 2}C at T = 700–800 K leads to the intercalation of C{sub 60} molecules under the graphene layer. The direct deposition of C{sub 60} molecules at T = 650 K also leads to the intercalation of C{sub 60} molecules under graphene; the maximal amount of fullerene accumulated under graphene is one single layer.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2018

Radiation-Induced Damage of Silicon-Carbide Diodes by High-Energy Particles

The radiation hardness of three types of commercial Schottky rectifier diodes based on silicon carbide (4H-SiC, base layer doping level (3–7) × 10{sup 15} cm{sup –3}) under electron (0.9 or 3.5 MeV electrons) and proton irradiation (15 MeV protons) is studied. The forward and reverse current–voltage characteristics of the diodes are monitored. In the initial state, the diodes have a breakdown voltage of 1–2 kV and an almost ideal forward current–voltage characteristic. It is found that the series resistance of the diodes is the most sensitive to radiation and governs the radiation hardness. This resistance grows by nearly 10 orders of magnitude and reaches a value of 10{sup 9} Ω at high doses. The threshold doses of electron irradiation fall within the range D{sub th} ≈ (0.5–2) × 10{sup 16} cm{sup –2} and depend on the electron energy and doping level of the base layer, and those of proton irradiation, D{sub th} ≈ 5 × 10{sup 13} cm{sup –2}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2017

IR spectra of carbon-vacancy clusters in the topochemical transformation of silicon into silicon carbide

Using infrared (IR) spectroscopy and spectral ellipsometry, we experimentally confirmed the previously predicted mechanochemical effect of the stoichiometric composition disorder leading to the formation of carbon-vacancy structures in silicon carbide (SiC) films grown on silicon substrates by the atom substitution method. It was found that a band at 960 cm{sup –1} in the IR spectra of SiC films on silicon, corresponding to “carbon-vacancy clusters” is always present in SiC films grown under pure carbon monoxide (CO) or in a mixture of CO with silane (SiH{sub 4}) on Si substrates of different orientation and doping level and type. There is no absorption band in the region of 960 cm–1 in the IR spectra of SiC films synthesized at the optimum ratio of the CO and trichlorosilane (SiHCl{sub 3}) gas pressures. The previously predicted mechanism of the chemical reaction of substitution of Si atoms for carbon by the interaction of gases CO and SiHCl{sub 3} on the surface of the silicon substrate, which leads to the formation of epitaxial layers of single-crystal SiC, is experimentally confirmed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2017

Initial stages of the growth of barium strontium titanate films on a semi-isolating silicon carbide substrate

The initial stages of the growth of ferroelectric barium strontium titanate films on single-crystal silicon carbide substrates have been studied for the first time. The choice of a substrate with high thermal conductivity has been due to the possibility of applying these structures in powerful microwave devices. The temperature ranges separating the mechanism of the surface diffusion of deposited atoms from the diffusion via a gaseous phase during the growth of multicomponent films have been determined. The studies show that the mass transfer by means of surface diffusion leads to the formation of small-height nuclei that cover a large area of the substrate, whereas the mass transfer via a gaseous phase leads to the formation of a “columnar” islandtype structure with small percentage of covering the substrate and larger island heights.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Epitaxial Growth of Cadmium Selenide Films on Silicon with a Silicon Carbide Buffer Layer

An epitaxial cubic 350-nm-thick cadmium selenide has been grown on silicon for the first time by the method of evaporation and condensation in a quasi-closed volume. It is revealed that, in this method, the optimum substrate temperature is 590°C, the evaporator temperature is 660°C, and the growth time is 2 s. To avoid silicon etching by selenium with formation of amorphous SiSe{sub 2}, a high-quality ~100-nm-thick buffer silicon carbide layer has been synthesized on the silicon surface by substituting atoms. The powder diffraction pattern and the Raman spectrum unambiguously correspond to cubic cadmium selenide crystal. The ellipsometric, Raman, and electron diffraction analyses demonstrate high structural perfection of the cadmium selenide layer and the absence of a polycrystalline phase.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Group III Acceptors with Shallow and Deep Levels in Silicon Carbide: ESR and ENDOR Studies

Results of investigations of Group III acceptors (B, Al, and Ga) in crystals of silicon carbide using the most informative electron spin resonance and electron nuclear double resonance methods are presented. Structural models of the acceptors with shallow and deep levels are considered. In addition to the data obtained earlier, studies using high-frequency magnetic resonance were obtained, which allowed revealing orthorhombic deviations from the axial symmetry for the deep acceptors; theoretical analysis explains experimentally found shifts of g factors for the deep acceptors arising due to the orthorhombic deviations, which appear probably due to the Jahn–Teller effect.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Intercalation of Iron Atoms under Graphene Formed on Silicon Carbide

The intercalation of iron under a graphene monolayer grown on 4H-SiC(0001) is studied. The experiments have been carried out in situ under conditions of ultrahigh vacuum by low-energy electron diffraction, high-energy-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation, and near carbon K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The deposited iron film thicknesses have been varied within 0.1–2 nm and the sample temperatures from room temperature to 700°C. It is shown that the intercalation process begins at temperatures higher than ~350°C. In this case, it is found that intercalated iron atoms are localized not only between graphene and a buffer layer coating SiC, but also under the buffer layer itself. The optimal conditions of the intercalation are realized in the range 400–500°C, because, at higher temperatures, the system becomes unstable due to the chemical interaction of the intercalated iron with silicon carbide. The inertness of the intercalated films to action of oxygen is demonstrated.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2018

Mechanism of Formation of Carbon–Vacancy Structures in Silicon Carbide during Its Growth by Atomic Substitution

The mechanism of formation of carbon-vacancy structures in silicon carbide SiC from silicon vacancies that inevitably form during synthesizing SiC from Si by atomic substitution has been studied. It is shown that it is useful for one of four nearest carbon C atoms to be displaced to the place of a silicon vacancy with the decrease in the total energy by 1.5 eV in the case of polytype 3C and by 0.9–1.4 eV in the case of polytype 4H. In this case, the C atom must overcome the activation barrier of 3.1 eV in the case of polytype 3C and by 2.9–3.2 eV in the case of polytype 4H. This transition is realized during synthesizing SiC due to thermal fluctuations, since the synthesis temperature is T ≈ 1200–1300°C. Thus, the carbon–vacancy structure is a nearly flat cluster of four C atoms and related carbon vacancy with a characteristic diameter of ∼4 Å at a distance of 2.4 Å from it. All the characteristics of this transformation, namely, the energy profile, the transformation pathway, the transient state, its frequency spectrum, the eigenvector corresponding to the only negative eigenfrequency are calculated by the elastic band method. The infrared spectrum (IR) and the permittivity of SiC containing carbon–vacancy structures are considered. The new line at 960 cm{sup –1} detected recently in the IR spectrum of grown by the atomic substitution is unambiguously identified with vibrations of C atoms in carbon–vacancy structures. It is concluded that carbon–vacancy structures stabilize cubic polytype SiC–3C.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2019

Techniques for Polytypic Transformations in Silicon Carbide

Abstract—: Two main polytype transformations in silicon carbide, namely, 2H → 6H and 3C → 6H, have been studied by ab initio methods. It has been shown that the intermediate phases with trigonal symmetry P3m1 and monoclinic symmetry Cm make it much easier to move the close-packed layers in such transitions by breaking them up into separate stages. It has been found that these two polytype transformations proceed in completely different ways. The links being relocated noticeably tilted compared to their initial position at the transition 2H → 6H, which allows the compression of the SiC links in the plane (11 2-bar 0). The transition 3C → 6H is carried out through the formation of Si–Si and C–C auxiliary links, living for a short time and helping densely packed layers to swap places. As a result, the activation barrier of the transformation 2H → 6H (1.7 eV/atom) is significantly less than the activation barrier of the transformation 3C → 6H (3.6 eV/atom), which means that the second transition should occur at the temperatures by 750–800°C higher than the first one. The energy profiles of this polytypic transformations, as well as the geometry of all intermediate and transition phases have been calculated. It has been shown that all the transition states have monoclinic symmetry.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2018

Intercalation of Platinum into a Graphene Film Formed on Molybdenum Carbide Mo{sub 2}C

It has been shown that platinum atoms evaporation on graphene covering molybdenum carbide Mo{sub 2}C at T = 1000 K causes platinum intercalation into the graphene. In such a case, a continuous multilayer platinum film grows under the graphene, which makes it possible to distinguish graphene-related components in the complex Auger spectrum of carbon.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2019

Elastic Precursor Decay and Spallation in Nonporous Tungsten Carbide Ceramics

To identify the possible contribution of relaxation processes to the resistance against high-rate deformation, evolution of shock-compression waves in tungsten carbide (WC) ceramics manufactured by spark-plasma sintering at a maximum compressive stress of 27 GPa is measured. Strong elastic precursor decay upon changing the thickness of the samples from 0.15 to 4 mm is revealed. At maximum shock compressive stresses twice exceeding the Hugoniot elastic limit, a decrease in the spall strength value by about 30% from its value in the elastic region is recorded.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

DOE OSTI2016

Characterization and Comparison of Planar and Trench Silicon Carbide (SiC) Power MOSFETs

This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation and experimental comparison of silicon carbide power MOSFETs through double pulse test. First, a universal hardware platform is designed and developed to test power semiconductor devices with various device packages and measuring requirements. Using the developed platform, the static characteristics and switching performance of the two types of SiC MOSFETs (one planar and one trench type) are evaluated under different case temperatures from 25 oC to 175 oC. Based on the evaluation data, a comparison of both SiC MOSFETs is conducted in terms of their on-state resistance, switching loss, and temperature dependent behavior. It is found that the latest trench SiC MOSFETs present similar switching loss while much lower conduction loss compared to existing commercial planar SiC MOSFETs. Moreover, the trench devices show a nearly temperature independent switching loss, which is beneficial to suppress the potential thermal runaway issue under high temperature continuous operation.

double pulse test↗

DOE OSTI2022

Thermal Neutron Scattering Law Evaluation for Zirconium Carbide and Critical Mass Calculations

Zirconium carbide (ZrC) is a candidate material for use in advanced high temperature reactors, including space nuclear thermal propulsion applications. Thermal neutron scattering laws (TSLs) are generated for carbon bound in ZrC, C(ZrC), and zirconium bound in ZrC, Zr(ZrC), using ab initio lattice dynamics methods. These evaluations are to be submitted for inclusion in ENDF/B-VIII.1 and use the incoherent approximation for inelastic scattering as well as the new mixed elastic scattering treatment. The application of disordered alloy theory is introduced to appropriately capture the isotopic composition of Zr and C in the elastic scattering cross section. Localized higher energy vibrations in the C(ZrC) phonon density of states that are separated from lower energy modes result in quantized oscillations in the inelastic contributions to the TSL with a significant likelihood of large energy down-scattering and up-scattering interactions, where the latter increases in probability with temperature. The quanta of energy transfer during neutron thermalization is substantially greater than classically expected within the thermal neutron energy range. MC21 critical mass calculations of ZrC mixtures with high-enriched uranium demonstrate an impact of the TSLs when compared to free-gas treatment for 235 U concentrations less than 0.2 g/cm 3 . Additional MC21 critical mass calculations with homogenous mixtures of ZrC and reactor-grade graphite also demonstrate sensitivity to the ZrC TSL for thermal spectrum driven fission systems.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2011

Distribution and Characterization of Iron in Implanted Silicon Carbide

Analytical electron microscopy (AEM) and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy-ion channeling (RBS-C) have been used to characterize single crystal 6h-silicon carbide implanted at room temperature with 160 keV 57 Fe ions to fluences of 1, 3, and 6 x 10 16 ions/cm 2 . Best correlations among AEM, RBS, and TRIM calculations were obtained assuming a density of the amorphized implanted regions equal to that of crystalline SiC. No iron-rich precipitates or clusters were detected by AEM. Inspection of the electron energy loss fine structure for iron in the implanted specimens suggests that the iron is not metallically-bonded, supporting conclusions from earlier conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) studies. In-situ annealing surprisingly resulted in crystallization at 600°C with some redistribution of the implanted iron.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2013

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Status of Silicon Carbide Joining Technology Development

Advanced, accident tolerant nuclear fuel systems are currently being investigated for potential application in currently operating light water reactors (LWR) or in reactors that have attained design certification. Evaluation of potential options for accident tolerant nuclear fuel systems point to the potential benefits of silicon carbide (SiC) relative to Zr-based alloys, including increased corrosion resistance, reduced oxidation and heat of oxidation, and reduced hydrogen generation under steam attack (off-normal conditions). If demonstrated to be applicable in the intended LWR environment, SiC could be used in nuclear fuel cladding or other in-core structural components. Achieving a SiC-SiC joint that resists corrosion with hot, flowing water, is stable under irradiation and retains hermeticity is a significant challenge. This report summarizes the current status of SiC-SiC joint development work supported by the Department of Energy Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program. Significant progress has been made toward SiC-SiC joint development for nuclear service, but additional development and testing work (including irradiation testing) is still required to present a candidate joint for use in nuclear fuel cladding.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2017

Modular fabrication and characterization of complex silicon carbide composite structures Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Research Final Report (Feb 2015 – May 2017)

Advanced ceramic materials exhibit properties that enable safety and fuel cycle efficiency improvements in advanced nuclear reactors. In order to fully exploit these desirable properties, new processing techniques are required to produce the complex geometries inherent to nuclear fuel assemblies and support structures. Through this project, the state of complex SiC-SiC composite fabrication for nuclear components has advanced significantly. New methods to produce complex SiC-SiC composite structures have been demonstrated in the form factors needed for in-core structural components in advanced high temperature nuclear reactors. Advanced characterization techniques have been employed to demonstrate that these complex SiC-SiC composite structures provide the strength, toughness and hermeticity required for service in harsh reactor conditions. The complex structures produced in this project represent a significant step forward in leveraging the excellent high temperature strength, resistance to neutron induced damage, and low neutron cross section of silicon carbide in nuclear applications.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗