Epitaxial Growth of Silicon Carbide by the Thermal Reduction Technique

Abstract

The epitaxial growth of silicon carbide on the basal plane of hexagonal silicon carbide substrates has been accomplished by the thermal reduction of carbon and silicon tetrachlorides, and experimental parameters of the growth process have been studied. Using good in situ etching techniques and inert susceptor materials, epitaxial silicon carbide layers with structural perfection similar to that of the substrate were grown at a substrate temperature of 1700°C and a deposition rate of 0.5 µ/min. Doped silicon carbide layers were prepared using nitrogen, arsine, or phosphine as n‐type dopants and diborane as a p‐type dopant, and the electrical properties of these layers were evaluated by Hall measurements in the temperature range 78°–900°K. Preliminary junction structures prepared by doping techniques were found to be capable of supporting up to 50v at 500 °C.