Enhancement of Oxidation of Silicon Carbide Originating from Stacking Faults Formed by Mode-Selective Phonon Excitation Using a Mid-Infrared Free Electron Laser

Abstract

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a promising material for wide applications due to its excellent material properties including high physical and chemical stability as well as great electronic properties of a wide bandgap. The high stability, however, makes its surface processing difficult. Especially, electrochemical processing is not well-established because of low electrochemical reactivity. Here, we show that selective phonon excitation by a midinfrared free electron laser (MIR-FEL) enhances the anodic reactions. The selective excitation of two different vibration modes of the Si−C bond induces two different stacking faults, which act as a current path. As an application, we discovered that MIR-FEL irradiation enables Pt electroless deposition. This work reveals the interactions among phonons, lattice defects, and electrochemical reactions, encouraging further development of not only electrochemical surface processing but also a new application of MIR-FEL.

Review—Silicon Carbide Thin Film Technologies: Recent Advances in Processing, Properties, and Applications: Part II. PVD and Alternative (Non-PVD and Non-CVD) Deposition Techniques

“…• Single crystal 3C-SiC(111) films on Si(111) substrates for applications as catalyst supports and in composite materials. 52 • Dense, closed-pore a-SiC formed through high-temperature pyrolysis of cross-linked Silres H62C methyl-phenyl-vinyl-hydrogen polysilsesquioxane for applications in three-dimensional (3D) printing. 53 • Polycrystalline (3C-SiC(111), 3C-SiC(220), and 3C-SiC(311))…”

“…Y. Maeda et al 52 developed a moderate, targeted technique to increase the electrochemical reactivity of 3C-SiC by deliberately inducing specific lattice defects. The technique is based on modeselective phonon excitation through irradiation with a mid-infrared free electron laser (MIR-FEL) that can discriminately excite particular vibrational modes of Si−C chemical bonds.…”

Preface for the 66th Special Feature “Novel Aspects and Approaches to Experimental Methods for Electrochemistry”

“…His research interests include surface processing based on self-organization in electrochemical reactions, fundamental understanding of electrochemical reactivity based on lattice defects, and the production of multicomponent alloys such as medium-and high-entropy alloys by electrodeposition. [83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91] He has published more than 110 peerreviewed scientific papers. Currently, he is an active member of CNRS France-Japan Laboratoire International Associé on "Chiral Nanostructures for Photonic applications."…”

Crystallinity in periodic nanostructure surface on Si substrates induced by near- and mid-infrared femtosecond laser irradiation

“…While these parameters affect the period of the LIPSS, actively controlling the period itself via coating material different from the sample substrate, has shown to be possible 23 . Recently, the use of femtosecond pulses from terahertz free-electron laser (THz-FEL) 24 – 28 , as well as conventional femtosecond lasers, has enabled the all-optical, contactless fabrication of structured surfaces with various periods ranging from nanoscale to microscale.…”

“…laser (THz-FEL) [24][25][26][27][28] , as well as conventional femtosecond lasers, has enabled the all-optical, contactless fabrication of structured surfaces with various periods ranging from nanoscale to microscale.…”