Silicon deposition on 3C-SiC seeds of different orientations

Silicon deposition on 3C-SiC seeds was studied as a function of seed orientations and thicknesses. The 3C-SiC seeds were grown on silicon substrates of (100), (110), (111) and (211) orientations by standard two-step CVD (low temperature carbonization followed by high temperature epitaxy). Then, the Si layers were grown onto these SiC seeds at various temperatures. Almost all the conditions gave polycrystalline deposit. At high deposition temperature (1350°C) the Si deposit was composed of separated hillocks and was never fully covering the 3C-SiC seeds. Lower deposition temperatures (≤ 1100°C) allowed obtaining silicon full coverage but not full epitaxy. Focusing on (100) orientation, it was shown that (100) Si deposit could be obtained but only on the as carbonized 3C-SiC sample, i.e. with the thinner SiC layer.