The list of semiconductor materials with spectroscopically fingerprinted self-interstitials is very short. The M center in 4H-SiC, a bistable defect responsible for a family of electron traps, has been deprived of a model which could unveil its real importance for almost two decades. Using advanced first-principles calculations and junction spectroscopy, we demonstrate that the properties of M, including bistability, annealing, reconfiguration kinetics, and electronic levels match those of the carbon self-interstitial.

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• Crystal defects
• Defects
• Wide band gap systems
• Deep level transient spectroscopy
• Density functional calculations