The diffusion of deuterium (H-2) in epitaxial 4H-SiC layers with buried hig
hly Al-acceptor doped regions has been studied by secondary ion mass spectr
ometry. H-2 was introduced in the near surface region by the use of 20-keV
implantation after which the samples were thermally annealed. As a result,
an anomalous accumulation of H-2 in the high doped layers was observed. To
explain the accumulation kinetics, a model is proposed where positively cha
rged H-2 ions are driven into the high doped layer and become trapped there
by the strong electric field at the edges. This effect is important for ot
her semiconductors as well, since hydrogen is a common impurity present at
high concentrations in many semiconductors.