Some properties of silicon carbide thin films prepared by electron beam evaporation

Abstract

Silicon carbide films having thicknesses ranging from 300 to 8000 Å have been deposited on a variety of substrates by electron beam evaporation at rates of up to 250 Å min−1. The crystal structure of the films was investigated by transmission and reflection electron diffraction, and was usually amorphous. The optical absorption edge was at about 5200 Å which corresponds to an energy gap of about 2·4 ev. The films had resistivities ranging from 100 to 6700 Ω cm and exhibited activation energies of approximately 0·16 ev over the temperature range 290-380°K.