Morphology of Thick SiC Epitaxial Films Grown by the Physical Vapor Transport Method

Abstract

Epitaxial SiC films were deposited on on-axis Si-face 4H-SiC(0001) substrates by the physical vapor transport (PVT) method from a SiC powder. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a surface morphology which did not have any observable growth defects or cracking. We observed hexagonal growth morphology, a typical characteristic of diffusional growth. River patterns, free from microbubbles and microvoids, were observed on the as-grown surface. Morphology observed at 45° tilt in SEM revealed growth steps and coarsening of grains. An X-ray diffraction (XRD) rocking curve measured the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) as 51.0 arc seconds and a reciprocal space map showed a singular intense region that is attributed to the high-quality homoepitaxial SiC film.