Observation of Shrinking and Reformation of Shockley Stacking Faults by PL Mapping
We provide evidence of shrinking of Shockley-type stacking faults (SSFs) in the SiC epitaxial layer by high temperature annealing. Photoluminescence (PL) mapping in combination with high-power laser irradiation makes it possible to investigate the formation of SSFs, which lie between a pair of partial dislocations formed by dissociation of a basal plane dislocation (BPD), without fabrication of pin diodes. Using this technique, we investigated the annealing effect on SSFs. Comparing before and after annealing at 600°C for 10 min, it became obvious that high-temperature annealing results in shrinking of the faulted area of the SSFs. The SSFs form into the same features as those before annealing when high-power laser irradiation is performed again on the same area. This result shows that the faulted area of SSFs shrinks by 600°C annealing but the nuclei of SSFs (BPDs) do not disappear.