Native or process-induced defective states may significantly affect the transport properties of silicon carbide devices. For this reason, it is of major importance to detect them and, when possible, to identify their origin. This contribution deals with the deep levels detected by deep level transient spectroscopy analyses in silicon carbide Schottky detectors. Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics have also been studied to investigate Schottky barrier properties and diode quality. On the basis of the comparison with literature data, some of the deep levels found can be attributed to impurities introduced during growth. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.