Effects of transition layer in SiO2/SiC by the plasma-assisted oxidation

We evaluate the change in defects in the oxidized SiO2 grown on 4H-SiC (0001) by plasma assisted oxidation, by comparing with that of conventional thermal oxide. In order to investigate the changes in the electronic structure and electrical characteristics of the interfacial reaction between the thin SiO2 and SiC, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), DFT calculation and electrical measurements were carried out. We observed that the direct plasma oxide grown at the room temperature and rapid processing time (300 s) has enhanced electrical characteristics (frequency dispersion, hysteresis and interface trap density) than conventional thermal oxide and suppressed interfacial defect state. The decrease in defect state in conduction band edge and stress-induced leakage current (SILC) clearly indicate that plasma oxidation process improves SiO2 quality due to the reduced transition layer and energetically most stable interfacial state between SiO2/SiC controlled by the interstitial C.