Novel Method for High Speed SiC Vapor Growth

Abstract

AbstractSilicon carbide is a promising semiconductor material for electrical and optoelectronic applications in the area of high power, high temperature, high frequency and intense radiation. Many groups have worked on growing SiC bulk crystals by sublimation from SiC powder source at a temperature above 2000 oC under an argon environment. They have also worked on improving the crystal growth rate. Traditional approach is to increase furnace temperature to enhance the growth rate. However, high cost of inert crucible at high temperature and impurity caused by crucible degradation set limit on the maximum growth rate which can be achieved. Current existing crucible and other components in the furnace are no longer passive at high temperature. Also understanding of vapor transport during powder sublimation and the interplay between vapor transport and powder sublimation is important for the optimization of the sublimation growth process. A comprehensive numerical model combining heat transfer, sublimation, species transport, and powder porosity evolution of SiC sublimation growth process is developed in this paper. The mechanism of vapor transport is described, in which a driving force is introduced to explain vapor transport. A new method to increase crystal growth rate is proposed based on the model. The new method includes changing the initial powder porosity and creating a hole in the packed powder. Simulation results for the case with a central hole and without hole are presented. The results show that the powder sublimation rate increases by creating a hole, and it is also validated by experiments. The results also reveal that the mass of the as-grown crystal increases if the powder sublimation rate increases. Finally, the powder geometry is optimized using numerical simulations.