Synthesis of SiC nanofibers by microwave plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition in CH₄/H₂ gas mixture

Abstract

We report in this study, the growth of silicon carbide nanofibers on silicon substrates covered by Fe thin film catalyst using microwave plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition. The silicon source is the substrate itself. The growth morphology, microstructure, and defects on SiC nanofibers are characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy combined with electron energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. These characterizations revealed that the resultant fibrous nanostructures, with a diameter of 25–65 nm, were assigned to β‐SiC. Selected area electron diffraction pattern shows a good crystallinity of the obtained nanofibers, and shows that the SiC nanofibers grow along (111) orientation. The formation of SiC nanofibers can be explained by the diffusion of Fe in the silicon substrate due to the high temperature during the process which is around 900 °C. The combination of the etching of the surface by atomic hydrogen and the interaction with carbon radicals and carbon atoms allows then the growth of SiC nanofibers. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Controlled Nanostructuration of Catalyst Particles for Carbon Nanotubes Growth

“…After the pretreatment step and without stopping the plasma, a mixture of CH 4 /H 2 is introduced in the chamber. On the basis of our previous work, a “hard” pretreatment leads the formation of silicon carbide. Using high microwave powers and pressures during pretreatment, the silicon substrate is attacked and serves as silicon source for the formation of SiC during the growth step.…”

Microplasma: A New Generation of Technology for Functional Nanomaterial Synthesis

“…Series of plasma-based technology like spark plasma sintering, thermal plasma expansion or plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) were developed over decades. And a wide range of nanomaterials were synthesized under different conditions, for example, carbides nanosized powders such as WC [40], TiC [41], TiCN [42], SiC [43][44][45], nitrides nanomaterials such as TiN [46][47][48][49], AlN [50][51][52], Mg 3 N 2 [53], GaN [54], BN [55], oxides nanomaterials such as Al 2 O 3 [56], [57], SnO 2 [58], V 2 O 5 [59], ZnO [60], TiO 2 [61] and metal nanoparticles such as Ag, Cu, Fe [62][63][64].…”