Growth of epitaxial 3C-SiC films on (111) silicon substrates at 850 °C by reactive magnetron sputtering

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixed Ar/CH4 discharge has been used to deposit 3C‐SiC films on (111)‐oriented Si substrates. The carbon content as well as the crystalline structure was found to depend on both the CH4 and Ar pressures. At a total pressure of 3 mTorr and a CH4 partial pressure of 0.6 mTorr, epitaxial stoichiometric films were obtained at growth temperatures as low as 850 °C. The epitaxial nature of the films was established by x‐ray diffraction using a combination of reciprocal space maps, texture scans, and 360° φ scans. Based on these analyses it could also be concluded that double‐positioning domains rotated 60° to one another as well as other defects, giving rise to a mosaic broadening in the reciprocal space maps, were present in the films. Furthermore, based on plasma probe measurements and determination of the electron energy distribution functions in the near‐substrate vicinity, the low growth temperature of 850 °C is suggested to be a consequence of an effective decomposition of CH4 molecules in the plasma.