Support for development of power semiconductors using latest evaluation equipments

Power semiconductors are used for power control of converters and inverters, but in recent years there has been increasingly active R&D on high-performance GaN and SiC materials to replace conventional Si. At Sumika Chemical Analysis Service, we conduct internal structure/defect analysis and impurity evaluation in all processes, from SiC substrates and epitaxial films to finished devices, by using latest transmission electron microscopy and our own unique pre-treatment technique.

Features

Using new pre-treatment methods and ICP-MS, SCAS can quantify metal impurities contained in the bulk, surface, or thin film of low-solubility SiC materials at the level of ppb.

Evaluation of metal impurities in SiC material

Test Items

Nitrogen annealing treatment is generally performed after formation of the gate oxide film to suppress defect formation at the SiO2/SiC interface, and thus it is necessary to ascertain the distribution of the introduced nitrogen. An attempt was made, using the high-sensitivity element analysis system of the newly introduced TEM, to elucidate the N distribution which was previously difficult to detect, and as a result, it was inferred that, due to nitrogen annealing, N is introduced more to the substrate side than the surface layer of the SiC.

EDX elemental mapping near the SiO2/SiC interface

Line profile of each element in direction from SiO2 to SIC