Observation of the Initial Stage of 3C-SiC Heteroepitaxial Growth on the Si Nanomembrane

Abstract

One considerable concern in 3C-SiC growth is the different lattice constant between the 3C-SiC and Si substrate, which causes defects and strain at the interface. Although the heteroepitaxial growth has been achieved, there have been no experimental studies on the initial process of 3C-SiC growth. In this research, we directly observe heteroepitaxial growth of 3C-SiC on the (001) Si nanomembrane (Si NM) step by step. We used in situ heating transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to study the initial growth process of 3C-SiC growth at the nanoscale in a high-vacuum environment. We demonstrate the growth of 3C-SiC at the preferential (110) direction without defects. The heteroepitaxial grown 3C-SiC without defects is attributed to the bowing effect at the nanoscale to compensate for the lattice misfit. Based on these results, we proposed a new method to heteroepitaxially grow on the Si NM through in situ heating TEM study.