Patent ID: 7294859

Claim:
A silicon carbide precursor structure suitable for use as a substrate in the manufacture of electronic devices comprising: a conductive silicon carbide wafer having a first and second surface and having a predetermined conductivity type; and a capping layer on said first surface of said silicon carbide wafer formed of a material that can be controllably deposited in thin layers, can be implanted with ions having the same conductivity as the silicon carbide wafer, and can be removed without substantially damaging the underlying surface of the wafer; a region of implanted dopant atoms extending into and completely through said capping layer and through said first surface into said silicon carbide wafer to a predetermined depth, said implanted region in said silicon carbide wafer having a higher carrier concentration than the carrier concentration in the remainder of said silicon carbide wafer and that is sufficient to reduce the voltage drop between said wafer and a Group III nitride buffer layer when a Group III nitride buffer layer is on said first surface of said silicon carbide wafer; and said capping layer having a thickness that defines the maximum implant concentration of dopant atoms being adjacent the interface of said first surface of said silicon carbide wafer and said capping layer.