Growth and characterization of SiC micro-crystals on Si(100) substrate by the chemical vapor deposition method

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) micro-crystals were grown on an Si(100) substrate by the reaction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with tetramethysilane (TMS) in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor. CNTs were catalytically grown on an Si(100) substrate by the thermal cracking of acetylene. The grown CNTs were in situ reacted with TMS in the CVD reactor. Micro-sized SiC crystals were uniformly grown across the Si substrate. The growth of the SiC micro-crystals was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Higher temperature and longer time were favorable for the growth of good quality SiC micro-crystals. The blue shift of the PL spectra was observed from the SiC micro-crystals. The growth mechanism of micro-sized SiC crystals is discussed.