Ion beam synthesis of 3C-SiC layers in Si and its application in buffer layer for GaN epitaxial growth

Abstract

A 180keV carbon implantation with an ion dose of 8.0 ± 1.0 × 1017C+/cm2 into Si(111) wafer has been investigated in order to examine the synthesis of 3C-SiC at the substrate temperature Ts = RT to 800°C and in the subsequent annealing treatment at the temperature Ta = 1000–1250°C/2h. The combination at Ts ≈ 500°C and at Ta > 1200°C is the most suitable for the synthesis of crystalline 3C-SiC with the same orientation of the Si(111) substrate.The crystalline 3C-SiC layer was used as a buffer layer for the formation of GaN/SiC/Si structure using MOVPE for the GaN growth. After removal of upper layers on the 3C-SiC by chemical etching, a crack-free epitaxial GaN layer of 3μm thickness has been successfully synthesized.