Growth of high-quality 4H-SiC epitaxial layers on 4° off-axis C-face 4H-SiC substrates

Abstract

• 4H-SiC epilayers are prepared on C-face substrates. • Surface morphologies show a strong dependence on the growth conditions. • A specular surface morphology was obtained. 4H-Silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial layers on the C-face SiC substrates are potentially useful for fabricating high-performance power SiC MOSFET device applications. In this research, 4H-SiC epilayers are prepared on 4° off-angle C-face 4H-SiC substrates through a low pressure chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Surface morphologies of the epilayers show a strong dependence on C/Si ratio, growth temperature and etching time. A specular surface morphology was obtained at the temperature of about 1550 °C, with the etching time of 15 min and C/Si ratio of 1.2.