Ion‐beam synthesis of 3C‐SiC surface layers on silicon

The attempt to grow 3C‐SiC thin films on silicon substrates has become an area of significant scientific interest, largely as a consequence of the impressive electrical properties that this polytype displays. In this paper, we have utilized low‐energy (20 keV) high‐fluence carbon implantation and a subsequent annealing step to form layers of 3C‐SiC directly on a silicon surface, and have investigated the effect of implantation fluence on the resultant materials properties. The quality of the Si/SiC interface is shown to be highly fluence‐dependent, with the formation of voids decreasing significantly with increased fluence. The conversion of carbon into 3C‐SiC is found to be most efficient at near‐stoichiometric concentrations, while at higher implantation fluences clusters of excess carbon are discovered to form within the silicon and to diffuse to the surface of the grown 3C‐SiC layer upon annealing. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.