Effect of Growth Conditions on Cubic Silicon Carbide Crystals Grown from Silicon Solution

We report the effect of changing the growth conditions in the case of bulk 3C-SiC crystals grown by the Travelling Zone Method when the seed is placed on the top graphite rod. First, we investigated the effect of changing the temperature gradient and the cooling ramp. Next we studied the effect of changing the seed polytype and misorientation. Every time, working in the 1700 °C temperature range, the grown polytype was 3C. From X-ray analysis we evidenced a better hetero-epitaxial relationship between the seed and layer when a low misorientation angle was used. Better quality and homogeneity were obtained on the first 500 .m of the layer and, beyond this thickness, micro-Raman measurements show that the effect of solvent (Si) incorporation is not yet fully under control.