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Surface-induced contraction mechanism of basal plane dislocations in 4H-SiC: Dislocation dynamics analysis

Atsuo Hirano*, Noboru Takahashi, and Akiyuki Takahashi

  • *Contact author: hirano.atsuo@rs.tus.ac.jp
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 264106 – Published 12 November, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/rz4d-3yjc

Abstract

Basal plane dislocations (BPDs) in the epitaxial layer in 4H-SiC is one of the remarkable manufacturing issues because they degrade device performance. Although most BPDs are converted to threading edge dislocations (TEDs), some remain. Therefore, elucidating the mechanism of BPD-TED conversion is crucial for the enhancement of this process. In this study, we addressed this gap by analytically clarifying the contraction mechanism of partial BPDs, which is one of the main processes in BPD-TED conversion. We employed the dislocation dynamics method based on dislocation theories, which can precisely describe interactions between dislocations. Our method incorporates surface effects such as image force in addition to the elastic interaction between dislocations and stacking faults by calculating the stress derived from the surface. Using this method, we focused on the effect of a terrace and step riser comprising steps on the epitaxial surface. The results revealed that the depth of the BPD pair from the surface as well as the direction of the Burgers vectors relative to the step riser significantly influence the contraction of BPDs. In addition, we investigated a model with an off-angle to determine its effect on BPD contraction, which showed that the BPD width decreases for small off-angles and closed Burgers vectors. Therefore, a small off-angle can result in a high BPD-TED conversion rate, which is consistent with the experimental results. These findings were clearly explained by the forces exerted on dislocations by the surface-induced stress. Our computational model clarifies the mechanism of BPD-TED conversion and is expected to be applicable to other SiC epitaxy conditions.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 264106– Published 12 November, 2026
  • Received 30 April 2026
  • Revised 16 October 2026
  • Accepted 28 October 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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