Electrochemical etching of n-type 15R-SiC and 6H-SiC without UV illumination

We report the formation of porous n-type 15R- and 6H-SiC and analyze the porous layers using scanning electron microscopy, Raman scattering and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The crystal structures and the preparation conditions of porous SiC are shown to have an effect on the structural and electrical properties of the material obtained. Raman spectra of porous SiC layers have shown some specific features compared with those of bulk SiC. For the porous 15R-SiC, the semi-cylindrical structure of the porous network has been observed and the porosity is about 66%.     

Effect of anodization time on photoluminescence of porous thin SiC layer grown onto silicon

A porous SiC (PSC) layer was fabricated by anodization of a 1.6 μm thin SiC layer deposited onto p-type Si(1 0 0) substrate by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), using a hot-pressed 6H-SiC(p) as sputtered target. p-Type PSC layers were fabricated by anodization in HF/ethylene glycol electrolyte (1:1 by vol.) at different etching times. The properties of the PSC layer formed by this method were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminescence (PL). The results show, that the growth layer was crystalline and PL spectra exhibit blue band emission centered at 2.95 eV. In addition, the results indicate clearly an increase in PL intensity by ten times of magnitude compared to that exhibited by the unetched sample.     

Investigation of porous silicon carbide as a new material for environmental and optoelectronic applications

In this paper, we present an experimental study on the chemical and electrochemical etching of silicon carbide (SiC) in different HF-based solutions and its application in different fields, such as optoelectronics (photodiode) and environment (gas sensors). The thin SiC films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition method. Different oxidant reagents have been explored. It has been shown that the morphology of the surface evolves with the etching conditions (oxidant, concentration, temperature, etc.). A new chemical polishing solution of polycrystalline 6H-SiC based on HF:Na₂O₂ solution has been developed. Moreover, an electrochemical etching method has been carried out to form a porous SiC layer on both polycrystalline and thin SiC films. The PL results show that the porous polycrystalline 6H-SiC and porous thin SiC films exhibited an intense blue luminescence and a green-blue luminescence centred at 2.82 eV (430 nm) and 2.20 eV (560 nm), respectively. Different device structures based on both prepared samples have been investigated as photodiode and gas sensors.     

Self-ordering of nanofacets on vicinal SiC surfaces

Vicinal 4H and 6H-SiC(0001) surfaces have been investigated using atomic force microscopy and cross-sectional high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. We observed the characteristic self-ordering of nanofacets on any surface, regardless of polytypes and vicinal angles, after gas etching at high temperature. Two facet planes are typically revealed: (0001) and high index (112;n) that are induced by equilibrium surface phase separation. A (112;n) plane may have a free energy minimum due to attractive step-step interactions. The differing ordering distances in 4H and 6H polytypes imply the existence of SiC polytypic dependence on nanofaceting. Thus, it should be possible to control SiC surface nanostructures by selecting a polytype, a vicinal angle, and an etching temperature.     

Wavelength modulated absorption in SiC

Wavelength modulated absorption spectra of the free excitons in 6H, 15R and 3C SiC have been measured. The spin-orbit splitting of the valence bands of the uniaxial and cubic polytypes are found to be 7 and 10 meV respectively. Using a new value for the exciton binding energy of 27 meV, an improved value of the fundamental gap of cubic SiC, E_g = 2.417 eV, is derived. Due to the small spin-orbit splitting, the valence bands are highly non-parabolic at low energies.     

X-ray absorption and photoemission spectroscopy of 3C- and 4H-SiC

We have studied the electronic properties of 3C- and 4H-SiC with X-ray absorption (XAS). Particular emphasis is placed on the conduction bands because they exhibit larger differences between the various SiC polytypes than valence bands. XAS spectra at the Si2p and C1s edges provide projections onto Si3d, 4s and C2p conduction band states. We explain the observed differences in the Si L_2,3 XAS data to arise from transition into dispersive bands which occur at the M and K point of the hexagonal Brillouin zone. The XAS data are sensitive to a difference in the dispersion of the two lowest conduction bands. For 3C-SiC the dispersion is larger than for 4H-SiC in agreement with theory. We compare the XAS data at the Si L edge with CFS and CIS spectra and find that the SiLVV Auger is dominant.     

无紫外光照射下n型15R-SiC及6H-SiC晶体的电化学腐蚀

本文在无紫外光照射下通过电化学腐蚀法制备了多孔n型15R-及6H-SiC,并用扫描电子显微镜(SEM),拉曼散射及X射线衍射仪(XRD)对多孔层的结构进行了分析。结果表明:晶体的晶型及氧化条件等因素对多孔结构有较大影响。首次观察到多孔n型15-SiC的半圆管状结构,其孔隙率约是66%。     

A theory of the origin of silicon carbide polytypes

A new theory of the origin of SiC polytypes is presented in which the observed polytypes are stabilised as equilibrium phases at the high temperatures of growth, the structures becoming frozen in on cooling. Results of first principles pseudopotential total energy calculations show that the SiC polytypes containing only bands of width 2 and 3 are nearly degenerate in energy while all other polytypes have higher energies. We develop an inter-layer interaction model to describe the energies of the polytypes. Calculations of the phonon free energies of several SiC polytypes using the valence overlap shell model are described. These calculations show that the phonon free energy gives rise to effectively long ranged interactions between the SiC layers which can stabilise a large number of ordered polytypes as equilibrium phases.     

退火温度对ZnO薄膜结构和发光特性的影响

采用反应射频磁控溅射法在 Si(100)基片上制备了高c轴择优取向的ZnO薄膜，研究了退火温度对ZnO薄膜的晶粒尺度、应力状态、成分和发光光谱的影响，探讨了ZnO薄膜的紫外发光光谱和可见发光光谱与薄膜的微观状态之间的关系.研究结果显示,在600—1000℃退火温度范围内，退火对薄膜的织构取向的影响较小，但薄膜的应力状态和成分有比较明显的变化.室温下光致发光光谱分析发现，薄膜的近紫外光谱特征与薄膜的晶粒尺度和缺陷状态之间存在着明显的对应关系；而近紫外光谱随退火温度升高所呈现的整体峰位红移是各激子峰相对比例变 关键词： ZnO薄膜 退火 光致发光 射频反应磁控溅射 可见光发射     

SiC polytypes process affected by Ge predeposition on Si(111) substrates

Structural and optical measurements were performed on silicon carbide (SiC) samples containing several polytypes. The SiC samples investigated were grown on (111) Si substrates by solid source molecular beam epitaxy (SSMBE). Several quantities of Ge were predeposited before the growth procedure. The influence of Ge on the SiC polytypes formation was studied by X-Ray, FTIR and μ-Raman characterizations methods. The spectra of the samples with less than one Ge monolayer exhibit a mixture of 2H, 15R and 3C–SiC polytypes. This mixture is due to the mismatch between the heterostructure layers. We propose that the Ge predeposition in the heterostructure can be used to stabilize and unify the polytypes formation.     

生长温度对6H-SiC上SiCGe薄膜发光特性的影响

利用低压化学气相淀积工艺在6H-SiC衬底成功制备了SiCGe薄膜。通过光致发光(PL)谱研究了生长温度对SiCGe薄膜发光特性的影响。结果表明:生长温度为980,1030,1060℃的SiCGe薄膜的室温光致发光峰分别位于2.13,2.18,2.31eV处;通过组分分析和带隙计算,认定该发光峰来自于带间辐射复合,证实了改变生长温度对SiCGe薄膜带隙的调节作用。同时,对SiCGe薄膜进行了变温PL测试,发现当测试温度高于200K时,发光峰呈现出蓝移现象。认为这是不同机制参与发光所造成的。     

国产SiC衬底上利用AIN缓冲层生长高质量GaN外延薄膜

采用高温AlN作为缓冲层在国产SiC衬底上利用金属有机物化学气相外延技术生长GaN外延薄膜.通过优化AlN缓冲层的生长参数得到了高质量的GaN外延薄膜,其对称(0002)面和非对称(1012)面X射线衍射摇摆曲线的半峰宽分别达到130 arcsec和252 arcsec,这是目前报道的在国产SiC衬底上生长GaN最好的...     

脉冲激光退火纳米碳化硅的光致发光

采用XeCl准分子脉冲激光退火技术制备了纳米晶态碳化硅薄膜(nc-SiC),并对薄膜的光致发光(PL)特性进行了分析。结果表明,纳米SiC薄膜的光致发光表现为300～600 nm范围内的较宽发光谱带,随退火激光能量密度的增加,nc-SiC薄膜398 nm附近的发光峰相对强度增加,而470 nm附近发光峰相对减小。根据nc-SiC薄膜的结构特性变化, 认为这两个发光峰分别来源于6H-SiC导带到价带间的复合发光和缺陷态发光,并且这两种发光过程存在竞争。     

Photoluminescence investigation of Be-doped Npn AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor structures

Highly complex Npn AlGaAs/GaAs single heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) layers with Be-doped base were investigated by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Room temperature PL shows only a broad peak of GaAs due to thermalization; 15 K PL shows five peaks. The peak at 1.481 eV is from a p-type GaAs base, that at 1.517 eV is from a low-doped GaAs layer and that at 1.55 eV is from a high-doped GaAs collector. The that at 1.849 eV is due to bound exciton recombination in an AlGaAs emitter, and that at 1.828 eV is due to the acceptor-related transition from the AlGaAs layer. The integrated intensity ratio of these two peaks can be used to investigate the Be outdiffusion behavior, thus optimizing the growth conditions of base. The DC current gain of the HBT structure with different growth conditions was found to be in good agreement with the PL results.     

iC多型体X射线定量分析的Rietveld方法

鉴于SIC多型体的主要衍射线完全重叠，用常规X射线粉末衍射方法确定SiC陶瓷材料中多型体含量的分布是非常困难的．提出以X射线粉末衍射全谱拟合的Rietveld方法进行SiC多型体定量分析，阐述了原理及方法．对含3C，4H，6H和15R4种多型体衍射数据的定量分析结果表明：Rietveld方法可对SiC材料中常见多型体的定量分析给出准确的结果．还给出了各自的标准偏差，并估计了该方法对各多型体能给出精确结果的最低含量     

Electronic structure and the local electroneutrality level of SiC polytypes from quasiparticle calculations within the GW approximation

The most important interband transitions and the local charge neutrality level (CNL) in silicon carbide polytypes 3C-SiC and nH-SiC (n = 2?C8) are calculated using the GW approximation for the self energy of quasiparticles. The calculated values of band gap E _g for various polytypes fall in the range 2.38 eV (3C-SiC)-3.33 eV (2H-SiC) and are very close to the experimental data (2.42?C3.33 eV). The quasiparticle corrections to E _g determined by DFT-LDA calculations (about 1.1 eV) are almost independent of the crystal structure of a polytype. The positions of CNL in various polytypes are found to be almost the same, and the change in CNL correlates weakly with the change in E _g, which increases with the hexagonality of SiC. The calculated value of CNL varies from 1.74 eV in polytype 3C-SiC to 1.81 eV in 4H-SiC.     

Impact of surface step heights of 6H-SiC (0 0 0 1) vicinal substrates in heteroepitaxial growth of 2H-AlN

Impact of step height of silicon carbide (SiC) substrates on heteroepitaxial growth of aluminum nitride (AlN) was investigated. Step-and-terrace structures with various step heights, 6 monolayer (ML), 3ML and 1ML, were formed on 6H-SiC (0 0 0 1) vicinal substrates by high-temperature gas etching. 2H-AlN layers were grown on the substrate by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) and then these layers were characterized by atomic-force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). High-quality AlN can be grown on SiC substrates with 6ML- and 3ML-height step, while AlN grown on SiC substrates with 1ML-height step exhibited inferior crystalline quality. A model for high-quality AlN growth on SiC substrates with 3ML-height step is proposed.     

Structural and optical properties of thin films porous amorphous silicon carbide formed by Ag-assisted photochemical etching

In this work, we present the formation of porous layers on hydrogenated amorphous SiC (a-SiC: H) by Ag-assisted photochemical etching using HF/K₂S₂O₈ solution under UV illumination at 254 nm wavelength. The amorphous films a-SiC: H were elaborated by d.c. magnetron sputtering using a hot pressed polycrystalline 6H-SiC target. Because of the high resistivity of the SiC layer, around 1.6 MΩ cm and in order to facilitate the chemical etching, a thin metallic film of high purity silver (Ag) has been deposited under vacuum onto the thin a-SiC: H layer. The etched surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy and photoluminescence. The results show that the morphology of etched a-SiC: H surface evolves with etching time. For an etching time of 20 min the surface presents a hemispherical crater, indicating that the porous SiC layer is perforated. Photoluminescence characterization of etched a-SiC: H samples for 20 min shows a high and an intense blue PL, whereas it has been shown that the PL decreases for higher etching time. Finally, a dissolution mechanism of the silicon carbide in 1HF/1K₂S₂O₈ solution has been proposed.     

Room-temperature photoluminescence of doped 4H-SiC film grown on AlN/Si(100)

Well-defined room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) was observed from 4H-SiC films on AlN/Si(100) complex substrates grown at temperatures below 1150 °C by the chemical vapor deposition method. The PL spectrum consists of three major emission peaks in the vicinities of 3.03, 3.17 and 3.37 eV. By the combination of experimental measurements and theoretical analysis, the origins of the PL emission peaks have been identified and associated with N donors, Al acceptors in the 4H-SiC films and the band-to-band transition between the second minimum of the conduction band and the top of valance band of the 4H-SiC. The room-temperature SiC PL can be much utilized for optoelectronic high-power, high-frequency and high-temperature applications in the ultraviolet spectral regime. PACS 81.05.Hd; 81.05.Ea; 78.55.-m     

Effect of metal diffusion into polycrystalline 6H–SiC prior to its anodization on luminescence response

p-Type porous SiC layers were fabricated by anodization of resistive p-type 6H–SiC samples using HF/ethylene glycol solution. Thin films of lithium (Li) and aluminum (Al) as donor and acceptor elements were vacuum deposited and diffused onto SiC substrates prior to anodization. The aim of this work is to investigate the properties of the nanoporous SiC layer formed by this method and to deduce the effect of diffused lithium as donor and Al as acceptor atoms on their photoluminescence response (PL). The profile distribution of lithium and aluminum diffused atoms was carried out using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The photoluminescence spectra of the anodized Al-diffused samples exhibit a broad emission band centered at about 475 nm, while the Li-diffused samples exhibit luminescence with one broad peak located at 655 nm, attributed to Li-related defect centers. In addition, the PL intensity of lithium diffused samples varies with varying the etching time. Finally, the results are expected to have important applications in modern optoelectronic devices and electrode materials of lithium batteries.