Investigation of the Mechanism and Growth Kinetics of Homoepitaxial 4H-SiC Growth Using CH₃Cl Carbon Precursor

In this work, the mechanism of the epitaxial growth of 4H SiC using CH3Cl as the carbon source gas was investigated. The experiments were conducted with a H2 carrier gas flow rate reduced in comparison to the standard conditions used for device-quality, full-wafer C3H8 growth. Low-H2 conditions have been found favorable for investigating the differences between the two gas systems. A non-linear trend of the growth rate dependence on CH3Cl flow was observed. This dependence was quantitatively different for C3H8 growth, which serves as an indication of different kinetics of CH3Cl and C3H8 precursor decomposition, as well as differences in Si droplet formation and dissociation. The maximum growth rate that we were able to achieve was by a factor of two higher for the CH3Cl precursor than for the C3H8 precursor at the same temperature and flow conditions. The growth on lower off-axis angle substrates produced surface morphology degradation similar for both CH3Cl and C3H8 precursor systems.