| Research Abstract |
The quality of the cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) grown on a Si substrate was very poor due to the large lattice mismatch of about 20 % between 3C-SiC and Si, the relatively large difference in thermal expansion coefficients of about 8 %, and the loss of the Si substrate at high growth temperatures above 1000℃. To help overcome these problems, a SiC buffer layer was prepared on the surface of a Si substrate by carbonization of the substrate and sputtering of a SiC target before the SiC growth. The SiC buffer layer prevented the loss of the substrate, but did not solve completely the problems of lattice mismatch and difference in thermal expansion coefficients between Si and SiC.
Recently, the alloying of C with Si and Si_<1-x>Ge_x has attracted attention because of its ability to control the strain associated with the lattice mismatch to Si. There are large differences in covalent radius, bond length, and bond strength among C, Si and Ge. Therefore, it is possible to release the strains
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due to lattice mismatch at the SiC/Si interface by atomic self-organized interdiffusion if a Ge_<1-x>C_x layer is prepared before the SiC growth. For example, the diffusions of C into Si and Ge into SiC may result in the decrease in lattice mismatch between SiC and Si.
In this project, we studied a new growth technique for 3C-SiC on a Si substrate. The Ge_<1-0.63>C_<0.63> buffer layer with a thickness of 5 nm was prepared on the Si substrate at 600℃, and was annealed at the same temperature in hydrogen atmosphere for 30 min. 3C-SiC can be grown on the substrate with the buffer layer at 850℃.
The crystallinity of the 3C-SiC film depends strongly on the thickness of the buffer layer. The maximum X-ray diffraction intensity of the 3C-SiC film at a buffer thickness of about 5 nm is observed. The improved crystallinity of the SiC film is related to the release of the SiC/Si interface strains in the buffer layer during the growth of the SiC film.
The effects of the Si(001) substrate on epitaxial growth of the SiC film are relaxed in the buffer layer. The SiC grains grow 'freely', that is, its growth is not affected by the Si substrate. The orientation of the SiC grains depends on free energies for nucleation and growth of the SiC grains. Therefore, the (111) oriented SiC grains are preferentially grown in the film because of smaller free energy of the (111)-oriented SiC nuclei at low temperature. Less
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