Epitaxial Growth of 3C-SiC on Si(111) Using Tetraethylsilane and Prevention of Void Formation at Heterointerfaces

Abstract

The surface morphology and crystalline quality of 3C-SiC films on Si(111) substrates were investigated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy, where tetraethylsilane (TES, Si(C2H5)4) was first used as a safety source for the growth of SiC films. While TES was expected to be the safest in various organosilane sources, it was essentially anticipated that the high C/Si ratio in TES results in deposition of carbon-rich SiC films, preventing single crystal formation. In raising the temperature after carbonization, voids appeared at the interface of SiC/Si, causing the formation of hillocks on the grown SiC films. The formation of voids and hillocks was prevented by adjusting the TES flow rate and time in the heating process to the growth temperature, leading to the growth of SiC films with a good surface morphology. As a result, it was shown that single crystal epitaxial films could be obtained in the growth of SiC films using TES, and yet a high density of stacking faults resided at the SiC/Si interface.