| The overall goal of this thesis is to fabricate SiC/Si heterojunction devices. The final SiC/Si device to be implemented is the SiC/Si heterojunction bipolar transistor. Two of the most challenging aspects of SiC device fabrication are the etching of SiC and the formation of metal contacts to SiC. Reactive ion etching was investigated for etching SiC. The SiC etch rate is determined as a function of oxygen in different fluorinated gases plasma and the optimum conditions of SiC RIE can be obtained. The specific goals are to completely understand the overall process and to develop conditions for high etch rate, anisotropy, high selectivity, residue-free, and low damage etch process to pattern device structure. A residue-free RIE of SiC has been first reported by the Nanoelectronics Laboratory of the University of Cincinnati. The effects of various RIE process parameters on the final device performance are studied.;Sputter deposition was used for the SiC metallization study. Contacts between various metals and SiC were characterized by I-V and C-V measurements. The metallization processes were evaluated for adhesion, stability, contact resistance, surface treatment, annealing, and suitability for device fabrication. To understand and optimize the SiC contact process conditions, the effect of different metal and annealing temperature are studied. Finding the lowest specific contact resistance is the part of the goal of this thesis. The electrical characterization of SiC metallization is studied in conjunction with the evaluation of the final device performance.;The final device is the SiC/Si heterojunction bipolar transistor (SiC/Si HBT). The electrical properties and fabrication processes of SiC/Si HBT were investigated. Based on various fabrication techniques, the device's performance and fabrication process are discussed. |
