Crystal defects significantly constrain the electrical performance, yield, and reliability of semiconductor devices, making their physical characterization a fundamental scientific imperative. X-ray topography (XRT) serves as a pivotal non-destructive metrology tool for investigating long-range strain fields in nearly perfect crystals, grounded in the dynamical diffraction theory of X-rays. Using 4H-SiC—a representative wide-bandgap semiconductor—as a model system, this study systematically investigates the physical characteristics of threading screw dislocations (TSDs), threading edge dislocations (TEDs), and basal plane dislocations (BPDs). We comprehensively employ multiple synchrotron X-ray diffraction geometries, including reflection, grazing incidence, plane-wave rocking curve imaging (RCI), and transmission topography.
A rigorous methodology for the quantitative determination of dislocation Burgers vectors based on extinction criteria is established. Notably, utilizing the beam expansion effect in grazing incidence topography, a macroscopic dislocation density map of a full 6-inch 4H-SiC wafer is successfully extracted, enabling highly efficient defect statistical analysis. Furthermore, by utilizing plane-wave RCI, we quantitatively map the local lattice rotations and stress fields induced by single TSDs through full width at half maximum (FWHM) and peak shift variations, intuitively verifying their spiral characteristics. Finally, through cross-sectional transmission topography and three-dimensional volumetric reconstruction, an unprecedented three-dimensional defect network map is achieved, directly visualizing the spatial distribution and interactive evolution of TSDs, TEDs, and BPDs along the crystal growth direction. The findings and the established comprehensive XRT protocol provide profound physical insights into defect dynamics and stress relaxation mechanisms, offering critical engineering value for optimizing SiC crystal growth processes and enhancing the yield of next-generation power electronics.