Low temperature crystallization of amorphous silicon carbide thin films for p–n junction devices fabrication

Abstract

Metal induced crystallization technique was used to crystallize hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) thin films at low temperatures. Two types of substrates, silicon and silicon carbide were considered and the substrate effects on the final crystallized film were studied. About 200 nm a-SiC:H films were deposited and crystallized successfully on n-type Si and n-type 6H SiC substrates at a temperature of 600 °C. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirmed the crystallization of a-SiC:H film. Current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurement confirms the formation of p–n junction with rectification over five orders of magnitude from −2 V to 2 V.