Preparation and Electrical Properties of An Amorphous SiC/Crystalline Si P+n Heterostructure

Abstract
An amorphous SiC/crystalline Si heterostructure has been fabricated and its electrical properties investigated. The amorphous film was prepared in an inductive-coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition system, and its properties studied for the first time. X-ray diffraction pattern studies revealed that films do not grow epitaxially at a deposition substrate temperature of 450°C and that they are amorphous in nature. An amorphous p+SiC/crystalline n-Si heterostructure showed good rectifying properties. Temperature measurements indicate that the current is dominated by the injection component at higher temperatures and by tunneling and recombination at lower temperatures. The electron affinity of the doped a-SiC film was estimated to be 3.24 eV. A possible energy band diagram is presented in this paper.