A detailed study of the static bending of micro-cantilevers has been performed for structures created from thin 3C-SiC films grown on (100) and (111) oriented silicon substrates. The biaxial stress distribution in the direction of the film normal has been evaluated based on analysis of the deformation profiles of clamped-free 3C-SiC beams of various thicknesses. Surprisingly, the obtained results clearly indicate that for as-grown samples of both studied orientations, the absolute value of the intrinsic stress increases from the interface to the surface of the film. We propose a simple analytical model of a relaxation process that explains in a quantitative way this unexpected phenomenon of stress gradient inversion.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.