This program focuses on investigating materials defects that affect the operation of SiC power devices as well as the design and fabrication of novel SiC devices. The materials defects being investigated include both point and extended defects. The emphasis of research into point defects concerns their effect on carrier lifetime and how that lifetime varies over the temperature, doping, and carrier concentration ranges encountered in SiC power devices. Extended defects are investigated by a variety of optical probes including ultraviolet photoluminescence (UVPL) imaging, a unique technique developed in our lab that enables non-destructive whole-wafer tracking of dislocations and other extended defects through the entire thickness of SiC epitaxial layers. This research includes developing growth techniques to suppress basal plane dislocations, which are responsible for the forward voltage drift induced by faulting of these dislocations. The fabrication of new types of SiC devices focuses on hetero interfaces such as 3C/4H polytype interfaces and graphene on 4H SiC.