The influence of heat treatment on the electrical characteristics of semi-insulating sic layers obtained by irradiating $n$-SiC with high-energy argon ions

Irradiation of crystalline $n$-type silicon carbide ($n$-SiC) with high-energy (53-MeV) argon ions was used to create near-surface semi-insulating ($i$-SiC) layers. The influence of subsequent heat treatment on the electrical characteristics of $i$-SiC layers has been studied. The most high-ohmic ion-irradiated $i$-SiC layers with room-temperature resistivity of no less than 1.6 $\times$ 10$^{13}$ $\Omega$ cm were obtained upon the heat treatment at 600$^{\circ}$C, whereas the resistivity of such layers heat-treated at 230$^{\circ}$C was about 5 $\times$ 10$^7$ $\Omega$ cm.