Funding Agencies|Japan Society for the Promotion of Science|2122600880225078|Swedish Energy Agency||Swedish Research Council VR/Linne LiLI-NFM||Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation||
The Z(1/2) center in n-type 4H-SiC epilayers-a dominant deep level limiting the carrier lifetime-has been investigated. Using capacitance versus voltage (C-V) measurements and deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), we show that the Z(1/2) center is responsible for the carrier compensation in n-type 4H-SiC epilayers irradiated by low-energy (250 keV) electrons. The concentration of the Z(1/2) defect obtained by C-V and DLTS correlates well with that of the carbon vacancy (V-C) determined by electron paramagnetic resonance, suggesting that the Z(1/2) deep level originates from V-C.