Article PreviewArticle PreviewArticle PreviewThis paper reports on the electrical activation and structural analysis of Al implanted 4H-SiC. The evolution of the implant damage during high temperature (1650–1700 C) annealing results in the presence of extended defects and precipitates, whose density and depth distribution in the implanted sheet was accurately studied for two different ion fluences (1.3 1014 and 1.3 1015 cm-2) by transmission electron microscopy. Furthermore, the profiles of electrically active Al were determined by scanning capacitance microscopy. Only a limited electrical activation ( 10%) was measured for both fluences in the samples annealed without a capping layer. The use of a graphite capping layer to protect the surface during annealing showed a beneficial effect, yielding both a reduced surface roughness and an increased electrical activation ( 20% for the highest fluence and 30 …