The Influence of SiC Powder Source on 6H-SiC Single Crystals Grown by the Sublimation Method

We examined the influence of thermal treatment of high-purity SiC powder on 6H-SiC crystal growth. The doping concentration was decreased by increasing either thermal treatment temperature or time. It was also found that the defects such as micropipes and planar cavities were generated under relatively long treatment time (13 hours), because SiC powders were significantly graphitized. A 6H-SiC crystal grown by using SiC source treated at 2100oC for 6 hours revealed the best result with relatively low micropipes. For the effects of thermal treated sources on the improvement of crystallinity, it could be explained that both the amount of alpha phase transformed from high-purity beta-SiC powder and the elimination of porous powders in SiC powder had an influence on the removal of silicon droplets, resulting in higher Si vapor pressure at the initial growth stage.