The Influence of C3H8 and CBr4 on Structural and Morphological Properties of 3C-SiC Layers

In this work we report on the growth of cubic silicon carbide using CBr4 and silane as precursors at different C3H8/CBr4 flow ratios. The layers were deposited on 2 " (001) Si wafers by means of the VPE technique in a horizontal cold-wall reactor with induction heating. The growths were performed at atmospheric pressure, in H-2 atmosphere and involved several steps: Si thermal etching; carburisation; epitaxial growth. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) were performed to observe the film morphology and defects and correlate them with the gas phase composition. Results show that the addition of CBr4 to the standard SiH4 and C3H8 precursor can change the crystalline nature and the morphology of the grown SiC.