Article PreviewArticle PreviewArticle PreviewThe electrical characteristics of Au/3C-SiC Schottky diodes were studied and related to crystal defects. A structural analysis performed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), combined with a current mapping of the surface by conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM), indicated that stacking faults (SFs) are the conductive defects having the biggest influence on the electrical properties of the Schottky barrier on 3C-SiC. Further, C-AFM current mapping of the semiconductor surface also showed that an ultraviolet (UV) irradiation process enables the electrical passivation of the SFs, due to their preferential oxidation. From current-voltage (IV) measurements in diodes of different area (different amount of defects) it was observed that, for the non-irradiated surface, no significant dependence of the Schottky barrier height (ΦB) on the contact area could be observed. On …