Epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate and method of manufacture of epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate

1. An epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate comprising a SiC single crystal wafer whose main surface is a c-plane or a surface that inclines a c-plane with an angle of inclination that is more than 0 degree but less than 10 degrees, and SiC epitaxial film that is formed on said main surface of said SiC single crystal wafer,

wherein the dislocation array density of threading edge dislocation arrays that are formed in said SiC epitaxial film is 10 arrays/cm 2 or less,

the threading edge dislocation array has a form wherein pairs of threading edge dislocations form a line, and the threading edge dislocations included in each pair are connected in a half-loop by a basal plane dislocation.

2. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the main surface of said SiC single crystal wafer is inclined with an angle of inclination of more than 0 degrees but less than 10 degrees in a <11-20> direction relative to the c-plane.

3. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein said threading edge dislocation arrays originate in elongation of basal plane dislocations in the vicinity of the interface of said SiC single crystal wafer and said SiC epitaxial film.

4. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein the length of threading edge dislocation arrays is 1 mm or less.

5. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein crystal curvature of said c-plane in said SiC single crystal wafer is a convexity oriented toward said main surface of the SiC single crystal wafer.

6. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 5 , wherein a curvature radius of the crystal curvature of said c-plane in said SiC single crystal wafer has a value that is continuously and uniformly convex relative to said main surface, and the curvature radius value is within a range from 10 m or more to 1000 m or less.

7. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein said SiC single crystal wafer is convexly curved toward the side that contacts the SiC epitaxial film.

8. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 7 , wherein the curvature of said SiC single crystal wafer oriented toward the side that contacts the SiC epitaxial film is continuously and uniformly convex in shape, and the value of that curvature is within a range from 0.1 μm or more to 10 μm or less per 76 mm diameter of said SiC single crystal wafer.

9. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein said SiC single crystal wafer has a differentiated region of carrier concentration and another region, wherein the differentiated region is an island-shaped region formed on the main surface and a difference in absolute value of carrier concentration between the differentiated region and the other region is 50% or less.

10. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein a buffer region layer is formed between said SiC epitaxial film and said SiC single crystal wafer, and carrier concentration in the buffer region layer gradually increases toward said SiC single crystal wafer side, and a rate of change of said carrier concentration is 80% or less per 0.5 μm in the depthwise direction.

11. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 , wherein thickness of said SiC single crystal wafer is 350 mm or more.

12. The epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 3 , wherein a proportion of said threading edge dislocation arrays relative to said basal plane dislocations is 50% or less.

13. A semiconductor device which is provided with the epitaxial SiC single crystal substrate according to claim 1 .