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  • Open Access

Postprocessing lattice strain in 4H-SiC

Helton Goncalves de Medeiros1,*, Agatha Christie Ulibarri1,2, Piyush Kumar1, Maria Mendes Martins1,3, Marianne Etzelmüller Bathen1,4, and Ulrike Grossner1

  • *Contact author: medeiros@aps.ee.ethz.ch
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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 014055 – Published 20 July, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tnjl-xzgr

Abstract

Processing steps, such as thermal oxidation, creation of p- and n-doped regions via ion implantation, and postoxidation and postimplantation annealing, are essential for successful and reliable fabrication of devices based on 4H-SiC. These processing steps are known to introduce crystalline defects or even modifications within the SiC base material that can potentially compromise device operation and reliability. In this work, we systematically study the strain introduced in the 4H-SiC crystal by SiC-specific manufacturing methods. The results show that tensile strain is present after ion implantation, thermal oxidation, and subsequent annealing processes. Interestingly, aluminum implanted samples show compressive strain near the surface in addition to the presence of an additional Raman signature, while nitrogen and phosphorus implanted samples experience tensile strain. Density functional theory calculations were performed to corroborate the experimental data and connect the type of strain to the microscopic impact that different dopants have on the SiC lattice. These results contribute to the understanding of processing-induced modifications within the crystal and show that Raman spectroscopy is a powerful tool to assess modifications to the 4H-SiC crystal.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 26, 014055– Published 20 July, 2026
  • Received 3 November 2025
  • Revised 22 February 2026
  • Accepted 18 June 2026
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article’s title, journal citation, and DOI.

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