Synthesis of β-SiC thin films for high temperature sensors by the activated reactive evaporation process

Abstract

β-SiC thin films were grown on Si(100) and α-alumina substrates by the activated reactive evaporation (ARE) process. The optimum deposition conditions are an acetylene gas pressure P C 2H 2 of 3 Torr, substrate temperature T s of 690 °C, and electron beam emission current I e of 150 mA. Si was evaporated from an electron beam evaporation source in a d.c. glow discharge of acetylene gas. The effects of substrate temperature and C 2H 2 pressure, which are the most important deposition parameters, on the structure and stoichiometry of the films were investigated by various thin film characterization techniques, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD) and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) for the identification of crystalline phases, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) for composition analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for microstructure.