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Surface morphology and structure of hydrogen etched 3C-SiC(001) on Si(001)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Camilla Coletti ,
Martin Hetzel ,
Chariya Virojanadara ,
Ulrich Starke  and
Stephen E. Saddow
Camilla Coletti
Affiliation:
camilla@eng.usf.edu, University of South Florida, Electrical Engineering, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL, 33620, United States
Martin Hetzel
Affiliation:
hetzel@fkf.mpg.de, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Heisenbergstr. 1, Stuttgart, N/A, N/A, Germany
Chariya Virojanadara
Affiliation:
chariya@fkf.mpg.de, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Heisenbergstr. 1, Stuttgart, N/A, N/A, Germany
Ulrich Starke
Affiliation:
u.starke@fkf.mpg.de, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Festkoerperforschung, Heisenbergstr. 1, Stuttgart, N/A, N/A, Germany
Stephen E. Saddow
Affiliation:
saddow@eng.usf.edu, University of South Florida, Electrical Engineering, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL, 33620, United States
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Abstract

The surface of 3C-SiC(001) single-crystal epilayers grown on Si(001) substrates is well known to be inhomogeneous and defective. Therefore, the control and understanding at the atomic scale of 3C-SiC surfaces is a key issue. We study the effect of hydrogen etching at different temperatures on the morphology of 3C-SiC(001) surfaces by using Nomarksi optical microscopy, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As-grown 3C-SiC(001) samples have been hydrogen etched in a horizontal hot-wall chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor at atmospheric pressure for different times and temperatures. Flat, high-quality surfaces presenting defined atomic terraces were observed within the 3C-SiC grain boundaries after etching at 1200°C for 30 minutes. Higher etching temperatures resulted in surfaces with step bunching and enlarged surface defects. Samples etched under the best conditions have been studied using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES).

Keywords

HAuger electron spectroscopy (AES)scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 911: Symposium B – Silicon Carbide 2006 – Materials, Processing and Devices , 2006 , 0911-B08-02
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2006

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References

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