Removal of polishing-induced damage from 6H-SiC(0001) substrates by hydrogen etching

We use atomic force microscopy and ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy to show that polishing-induced damage on 6H-SiC(0001) on-axis wafers is efficiently removed by hydrogen etching in a hot-wall chemical vapor deposition reactor. The obtained surfaces exhibit a highly regular step stru...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of crystal growth 1996-09, Vol.167 (1), p.391-395
Main Authors: Owman, Fredrik, Hallin, C., Mårtensson, Per, Janzén, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Exact sciences and technology
Materials science
Physics
Surface cleaning, etching, patterning
Surface treatments
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Summary:We use atomic force microscopy and ultra-high vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy to show that polishing-induced damage on 6H-SiC(0001) on-axis wafers is efficiently removed by hydrogen etching in a hot-wall chemical vapor deposition reactor. The obtained surfaces exhibit a highly regular step structure with typically 1500 Å wide terraces separated by steps with the height of a single unit cell (15 Å). The corresponding low-energy electron diffraction pattern is threefold symmetric as expected for a surface with a single preferred domain. These results are compared with results obtained for as-polished and sublimation etched SiC(0001) wafers.
ISSN:0022-0248
1873-5002
DOI:10.1016/0022-0248(96)00296-5