Lateral boron distribution in polycrystalline SiC source materials

Polycrystalline SiC containing boron and nitrogen are used in growth of fluorescent SiC for white LEDs. Two types of doped polycrystalline SiC have been studied in detail with secondary ion mass spectrometry: sintered SiC and poly-SiC prepared by sublimation in a physical vapor transport setup. The materials are co-doped materials with nitrogen and boron to a concentration of 1x1018 cm-3 and 1x1019 cm-3, respectively. Depth profiles as well as ion images have been recorded. According to ocular inspection, the analyzed poly-SiC consists mainly of 4H-SiC and 6H-SiC grains. In these grains, the boron concentration is higher and the nitrogen concentration is lower in the 6H-SiC compared to the 4H-SiC polytype. No inter-diffusion between grains is observed.