Characterization of Silicon Carbide thin Films Deposited by Laser Ablation on [001] and [111] Silicon Wafers

ABSTRACTStoichiometric films of 3C SiC, 50 to 1000 nm thick were deposited on Si wafers by laser ablation of ceramic stoichiometric SiC targets. Films grown at substrate temperatures above 1000° C on [001] and above 900° C on [111] show orientation epitaxial to the Si substrate along the film normal. Depending on the deposition conditions, the oriented crystallite dimension along this direction ranges from 20 nm to over 100 nm. The crystallite dimensions in the film plane range from 20 to 70 nm. Raman spectra show the expected TO and LO lines from SiC but indicate that the films sometimes contain other material, for example (30 to 50 Å) graphitic inclusions or small amounts of polycrystalline silicon.