We discuss continuing materials technology improvements that have transformed silicon carbide from an intriguing laboratory material into a premier manufacturable semiconductor technology. This advancement is demonstrated by reduced micropipe densities as low as 0.22 cm−2 on 3-in.-diameter conductive wafers and 16 cm−2 on 100-mm-diameter conductive wafers. For high-purity semi-insulating materials, we confirm that the carbon vacancy is the dominant deep-level trapping state, and we report very consistent cross-wafer activation energies derived from temperature-dependent resistivity.Warm-wall and hot-wall SiC epitaxy platforms are discussed in terms of capability and applications. Specific procedures that essentially eliminate forward-voltage drift in bipolar SiC devices are presented in detail.
