Influence of Growth Parameters on the Residual Strain in 3C-SiC Epitaxial Layers on (001) Silicon

Abstract

3C-SiC epitaxial layers were grown on on-axis Si (001) substrates by low-pressure hot-wall chemical vapour deposition. Depending on the growth parameters, the residual strain in the 3C-SiC layer was seen to be tensile or compressive. In this work, the influence of parameters, such as growth temperature and C/Si ratio in the vapour phase, on residual strain and macroscopic layer bow is investigated. We found that the wafer bow changes from convex, at a deposition temperature of 1270° C, to concave at 1370° C. High resolution x-ray diffraction data indicate that the crystal-line perfection of the layers is lower for decreasing deposition temperature and increasing compres-sive strain. No remarkable influence of the C/Si ratio in the gaseous atmosphere on the FWHM of the rocking curve was observed.