ON THE SPECIFIC FEATURES OF SILICON CARBIDE HETEROPOLYTYPE EPITAXY

Abstract

Specific features of silicon carbide layer formation with the structure (polytype) different from the SiC-substrate structure (polytype) are considered. Simple theoretical foundations of the nonstoichiometric character, impurities, C- and Si-faces effect on the heteropolytype epitaxy (HPE) of silicon carbide are proposed. By means of Harrison’s bond orbital model it is shown that the adsorption possibility for the C-face is much greater than for the Si-face. Within the scopes of the earlier proposed models (D-model and vacancy model) it is demonstrated that the presence of impurities changes characteristic lifetimes of the HPE process and the transition layer widths: impurities which enforce the interpolytype transition decrease corresponding life-time constants and the transition layer widths. For interpretation of the polytype stripes existence within the transition layer, the model of specific spinodal decomposition taking into account vacancy concentrations variations in both SiC sublattices is used.

Keywords

• silicon carbide
• heteropolytype epitaxy
• transition layers
• spinodal decomposition