Interfacial transformations in the a-SiC/a-Si/6H-SiC structure caused by high-temperature (1500°C) annealing

Abstract

We have studied the reactions that take place at interfaces in an a-SiC/a-Si/6H-SiC sandwich structure, which was obtained by the sequential deposition of amorphous silicon (a-Si) and amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) onto a 6H-SiC substrate by ion sputtering in vacuum and then annealed at 1500°C (i.e., above the melting point of silicon). It is shown that the annealing leads to complete idissipationi of the silicon film in SiC, probably as a result of the dissolution of carbon in the silicon melt and the diffusion of silicon into SiC.