3C-SiC thin epilayer formation at low temperature using ion beams

Abstract

3C-SiC heteroepitaxy by means of direct irradiation of isotopically mass-selected 28Si and 12C ion beams onto Si substrates has been performed. The surface structural evolution during ion irradiation was monitored by reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). The process temperatures of both carbonization and ∼15nm-thick thin SiC layer formation are ∼670°C which is quite low as compared to other conventional film growth methods using gas species providing nearly equilibrium processes. The results suggest that a far equilibrium and subplantation film growth process provided by low-energy ion beams contributes to the low temperature SiC epilayer formation.