Structural and optical characteristics of in-situ sputtered highly oriented 15R-SiC thin films on different substrates

Abstract

In this work, we have reported the in-situ fabrication of nanocrystalline rhombohedral silicon carbide (15R-SiC) thin films by RF-magnetron sputtering at 800 C substrate temperature. The structural and optical properties were investigated for the films grown on four different substrates (ZrO 2 , MgO, SiC, and Si). The contact angle measurement was performed on all the substrates to investigate the role of interfacial surface energy in nucleation and growth of the films. The XRD measurement revealed the growth of (1 0 10) orientation for all the samples and demonstrated better crystallinity on Si substrate, which was further corroborated by the TEM results. The Raman spectroscopy confirmed the growth of rhombohedral phase with 15R polytype. Surface characteristics of the films have been investigated by energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, FTIR, and atomic force microscope (AFM) to account for chemical composition, bonding, and root mean square surface roughness (d rms). The optical dispersion behavior of 15R-SiC thin films was examined by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the wide spectral range (246-1688 nm), including the surface characteristics in the optical model. The non-linear optical parameters (v 3 and n 2) of the samples have been calculated by the Tichy and Ticha relation using a single effective oscillator model of Wemple and Didomenico. Additionally, our optical results provided an alternative way to measure the ratio of carrier concentration to the effective mass (N/m*). These investigated optical parameters allow one to design and fabricate optoelectronic, photonic, and telecommunication devices for deployment in extreme environment.

Reactions of metal chlorides with hexamethyldisilazane: Novel precursors to aluminum nitride and beyond

“…When heated to 600 • C, there is mainly a broad peak at ∼600-800/cm, likely C, SiC, AlN, and/or νAl-O. [50][51][52] When heated to 800-1600 • C/N 2 , similar peaks at ∼600-800/cm are observed, Figure 3B. Only after heating to 1600 • C/4 h/N 2 do peaks separate at ∼500/cm with sharper features, suggesting increased crystallinity compared to Al-HMDS heated to lower temperatures, as confirmed by XRD studies below.…”

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

“…• 530 nm-thick 3C-SiC layers for monolithically integrated photonics, such as electrically driven quantum emitters and electrooptic (EO) modulators. 36 • Biological and Medical Applications:…”

Ultraviolet optical properties and structural characteristics of radio frequency-deposited HfO2 thin films

“…The growth rate and refractive index are derived from the experiment results of spectroscopic ellipsometer, according to Tauc-Lorentz model [30][31][32][33][34][35]. The growth rates of films are approximately 3.0, 4.4, 6.2, 4.2, and 1.1 nm/min under RF power from 160 W to 240 W. The increase of growth rate with power from 160 W to 200 W indicates more effective bombardment of the target.…”