Investigation of β-SiC Thin Films Grown on a Si (111) Substrate by RTCVD

摘要

Beta-SiC (3C- SiC) thin films could be used as a buffer layer between GaN films and a Si substrate. Owing to the β-SiC bulk material is not available till now and GaN-based devices are not able to be fabricated on a Si substrate, heteroepitaxy of β-SiC/Si is an effective way to compensate this deficiency. This paper analyzed the characteristics of β-SiC thin films grown on a Si (111) substrate by RTCVD (Rapid Thermal Chemical Vapor Deposition). In order to find an appropriate growth condition, the β-SiC (111) thin films were grown on a Si (111) substrate under varied gas phase compositions and temperatures. As a result, β-SiC films are successfully grown on a Si (111) substrate with the gases of SiH4, C3H8, and H2 at 1200°C. By mean of Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Atomic force microscope (AFM) analyses, the β-SiC thin films were examined to evaluate the performances under various growth conditions. Using the β-SiC thin films as a buffer layer, it is possible to develop a GaN-base device on a silicon substrate and integrate the GaN electronics with the mature silicon fabrication technique in the days to come.