Development of low-stress SiC coating on single crystal Si using low elastic modulus SiOC amorphous buffer layer

Abstract

In this study, we successfully prepared low-stress SiC coatings on single-crystal Si substrates using the organometallic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technique. For this purpose, the SiOC buffer layer (with low hardness and low elastic modulus) was initially deposited on the substrate and then the SiC coating was directly deposited on the buffer layer. A series of both, the buffer layer and the SiC coating, were separately deposited at various process conditions to pinpoint their optimized combination. Results revealed that the residual compressive stress value for the optimized SiC composite coating (containing low elastic modulus SiOC buffer layer) was 87.9% lower than that of the single SiC layer. The findings of this study are of great significance for the production and integration of the SiOC buffer layer and the SiC coating which not only improves the production efficiency but also reduces the production costs low-cost power devices.