Issue 8, 2021

Vapour–liquid–solid-like growth of high-quality and uniform 3C–SiC heteroepitaxial films on α-Al2O3(0001) substrates

Abstract

We demonstrate the heteroepitaxial growth of 3C–SiC thin films on α-Al2O3(0001) substrates by a vapour–liquid–solid (VLS)-like mechanism, an advanced process of alternating deposition of SiC and NiSi2 flux in nanoscale, and the process is facilitated by our pulsed laser deposition system with rapid beam deflection (RBD-PLD). In the VLS-like growth, different from conventional VLS processes, nanoscale liquid precursors diffuse over the substrate and are highly and uniformly dispersed, preventing possible effects on the substrate etching and subsequent film growth by locally aggregated flux. As a result, the VLS-like growth process is found to work effectively even in heteroepitaxial growth of uniform and high-quality SiC films with low inclusion of carbon impurity, as evidenced by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and UV-vis spectroscopy. These results illustrate the versatility of the VLS-like growth process for uniform and high-quality crystal thin films of various materials in heteroepitaxial systems.

Graphical abstract: Vapour–liquid–solid-like growth of high-quality and uniform 3C–SiC heteroepitaxial films on α-Al2O3(0001) substrates

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Dec. 2020
Accepted
13 Janv. 2021
First published
13 Janv. 2021

CrystEngComm, 2021,23, 1709-1717

Author version available

Vapour–liquid–solid-like growth of high-quality and uniform 3C–SiC heteroepitaxial films on α-Al2O3(0001) substrates

N. Sannodo, A. Osumi, K. Kaminaga, S. Maruyama and Y. Matsumoto, CrystEngComm, 2021, 23, 1709 DOI: 10.1039/D0CE01793K

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements