3C-SiC Heteroepitaxial Layers Grown on Silicon Substrates with Various Orientations

Abstract

This work investigates the 3C-SiC heteroepitaxial growth on silicon substrates having a wide variety of orientations, i.e. (100) on axis and 2°off, (111), (110), (211), (311), (331), (510), (553) and (995). All the 3C-SiC layers were grown using the same two-step CVD process with a growth rate of 2 μm/h. According to X-ray diffraction characterizations, direct heteroepitaxy (layer having exactly the same orientation as the substrate) was successful on most of the Si substrates except for (110) one which was the only orientation leading to obvious polycrystalline deposit. Each layer led to a specific surface morphology, the smoothest being the ones grown on Si (100)2°off, and (995) substrates. None of these layers cracked upon cooling though those grown on Si (111), (211) and (553) substrates were highly bowed.