Scholarlink

<p>Silicon carbide (SiC) has emerged as a leading wide-bandgap semiconductor for power, aerospace, and nuclear electronic systems, primarily due to its exceptional thermal conductivity, large breakdown field, and intrinsic radiation tolerance. Yet the microscopic mechanisms governing its structural and electrical stability during energetic ion irradiation remain incompletely understood. This review analyzes the response of SiC to ion beams spanning an energy range of 0.004–40&#xa0;MeV/u and fluences from 10<sup>11</sup> to 10<sup>14</sup> ions/cm<sup>2</sup>, reflecting the full scope of experimental data consolidated here. A four-region classification based on energy per nucleon (E/A) is introduced as a practical framework for organizing the literature: Region 1 (nuclear energy (S<sub>n</sub><i>)</i> dominant displacement cascades), Region 2 (mixed electronic and nuclear energy (S<sub>e</sub>/S<sub>n</sub><i>)</i>, progressive clustering), Region 3 (electronic energy (S<sub>e</sub><i>)</i> dominant electronic excitation), and Region 4 (swift heavy ion (SHI) track regime). Special emphasis is placed on the increasing deployment of SiC in radiation-intensive environments, including space systems, fusion reactors, and high-luminosity particle physics detectors, which demand a unified understanding of defect formation under diverse irradiation conditions. The dominance of S<sub>e</sub> or S<sub>n</sub> determines key damage pathways, including point defect production, dislocation loop formation, lattice amorphization, and partial recrystallization, all of which influence electronic transport and device reliability. Single-event effects in SiC power devices, including single-event burnout and single-event leakage current from stacking fault formation, are discussed as a distinct failure mode. The review also addresses the emerging intersection between ion irradiation and quantum technology: the same defects that degrade power devices (silicon vacancies and divacancies in 4H-SiC) are optically addressable spin qubits with room-temperature coherence, making controlled ion irradiation a precision defect-engineering tool for quantum sensing applications. Mechanistic insights into defect engineering, modeling approaches, and mitigation strategies for next-generation radiation-hardened SiC technologies are systematically reviewed.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Ion-induced damage in silicon carbide: insights into defect formation and evolution from atomic to device scales

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月17日

查看全文
  • Muskan Verma,
  • Kamal Singh,
  • Vinay Kumar,
  • Parmod Kumar,
  • D. Kanjilal,
  • Ashish Kumar

摘要

Silicon carbide (SiC) has emerged as a leading wide-bandgap semiconductor for power, aerospace, and nuclear electronic systems, primarily due to its exceptional thermal conductivity, large breakdown field, and intrinsic radiation tolerance. Yet the microscopic mechanisms governing its structural and electrical stability during energetic ion irradiation remain incompletely understood. This review analyzes the response of SiC to ion beams spanning an energy range of 0.004–40 MeV/u and fluences from 1011 to 1014 ions/cm2, reflecting the full scope of experimental data consolidated here. A four-region classification based on energy per nucleon (E/A) is introduced as a practical framework for organizing the literature: Region 1 (nuclear energy (Sn) dominant displacement cascades), Region 2 (mixed electronic and nuclear energy (Se/Sn), progressive clustering), Region 3 (electronic energy (Se) dominant electronic excitation), and Region 4 (swift heavy ion (SHI) track regime). Special emphasis is placed on the increasing deployment of SiC in radiation-intensive environments, including space systems, fusion reactors, and high-luminosity particle physics detectors, which demand a unified understanding of defect formation under diverse irradiation conditions. The dominance of Se or Sn determines key damage pathways, including point defect production, dislocation loop formation, lattice amorphization, and partial recrystallization, all of which influence electronic transport and device reliability. Single-event effects in SiC power devices, including single-event burnout and single-event leakage current from stacking fault formation, are discussed as a distinct failure mode. The review also addresses the emerging intersection between ion irradiation and quantum technology: the same defects that degrade power devices (silicon vacancies and divacancies in 4H-SiC) are optically addressable spin qubits with room-temperature coherence, making controlled ion irradiation a precision defect-engineering tool for quantum sensing applications. Mechanistic insights into defect engineering, modeling approaches, and mitigation strategies for next-generation radiation-hardened SiC technologies are systematically reviewed.