CVD Elaboration of 3C-SiC on AlN/Si Heterostructures: Structural Trends and Evolution during Growth

• Published in: Crystals (Basel) 2022-11, Vol.12 (11), p.1605
• Main Authors: Portail, Marc, Frayssinet, Eric, Michon, Adrien, Rennesson, Stéphanie, Semond, Fabrice, Courville, Aimeric, Zielinski, Marcin, Comyn, Remi, Nguyen, Luan, Cordier, Yvon, Vennéguès, Philippe
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aluminum compounds; aluminum nitride; Chemical vapor deposition; Dielectric films; Dislocation density; Electric properties; Electrical properties; Engineering Sciences; Epitaxial growth; Epitaxy; Fourier transforms; Gases; Graphene; Heat treatment; Heterostructures; Hydrogen; Inclusions; Insulation; Microelectromechanical systems; Microscopy; Molecular beam epitaxy; Morphology; Physics; Polytypes; Reduction; Silicon; Silicon carbide; Silicon wafers; Symmetry; Thickness; Thin films; Trends
• ISSN: 2073-4352; 2073-4352
• DOI: 10.3390/cryst12111605

(111)-oriented cubic polytypes of silicon carbide (3C-SiC) films were grown by chemical vapor deposition on 2H-AlN(0001)/Si(111) and 2H-AlN(0001)/Si(110) templates. The structural and electrical properties of the films were investigated. For film thicknesses below 300 nm, the 3C-SiC material deposited on 2H-AlN/Si presented a better structural quality than the 3C-SiC films grown directly on Si(111) using the well-established two-step carbonization–epitaxy process. The good lattice match of 3C-SiC with AlN may open a reliable route towards high-quality thin heteroepitaxial 3C-SiC films on a silicon wafer. Nevertheless, the 3C-SiC was featured by the presence of twinned domains and small inclusions of 6H-SiC. The formation of a thin AlSiN film at the AlN/Si interface is also reported. This is the first time such AlSiN layers are described within an AlN/Si heterostructure. Furthermore, noticeable modifications were observed in the AlN film. First, the growth process of SiC on AlN induced a reduction of the dislocation density in the AlN, attesting to the structural healing of AlN with thermal treatment, as already observed for other AlN-based heterostructures with higher-temperature processes. The growth of SiC on AlN also induced a dramatic reduction in the insulating character of the AlN, which could be related to a noticeable cross-doping between the materials.