Si/SiC bonded wafer: A route to carbon free SiO2 on SiC

This paper describes the thermal oxidation of Si/SiC heterojunction structures, produced using a layer-transfer process, as an alternative solution to fabricating SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices with lower interface state densities (D-it). Physical characterization demonstrate that the transferred Si layer is relatively smooth, uniform, and essentially monocrystalline. The Si on SiC has been totally or partially thermally oxidized at 900-1150 degrees C. D-it for both partially and completely oxidized silicon layers on SiC were significantly lower than D-it values for MOS capacitors fabricated via conventional thermal oxidation of SiC. The quality of the SiO2, formed by oxidation of a wafer-bonded silicon layer reported here has the potential to realize a number of innovative heterojunction concepts and devices, including the fabrication of high quality and reliable SiO2 gate oxides.