4H-SiC epitaxial layers have been grown using trichlorosilane (TCS) as the silicon
precursor source together with ethylene as the carbon precursor source. A higher C/Si ratio is
necessary compared with the silane/ethylene system. This ratio has to be reduced especially at
higher Si/H2 ratio because the step-bunching effect occurs. From the comparison with the process
that uses silane as the silicon precursor, a 15% higher growth rate has been found using TCS
(trichlorosilane) at the same Si/H2 ratio. Furthermore, in the TCS process, the presence of chlorine,
that reduces the possibility of silicon droplet formation, allows to use a high Si/H2 ratio and then to
reach high growth rates (16 *m/h). The obtained results on the growth rates, the surface roughness
and the crystal quality are very promising.
