Growth on Rhombohedral (01-1n) Plane: An Alternative for Preparation of High Quality Bulk SiC Crystals

Results on bulk growth of SiC crystals along rhombohedral [01-1n] directions are presented. 6H- and 4H-crystals were grown on rhombohedral planes, which make angles of about 45o with the (0001) plane. Etching features on three differently oriented planes cut from characteristic crystals were compared. Utmost care was concentrated on defect development in the case of non-conventional growth orientation using the seed cut from a “standard” (0001) crystal, containing a typical (standard for [0001] growth) set of crystal defects. We clearly distinguished between a transient layer adjacent to the seed and the main crystal body grown at latter stages. The defect selection and/or transformation in the transient layer appeared strongly depending on the SiC polytype and growth direction. This study brings directly the information on stability of particular defects in the chosen crystal orientation and allows us to distinguish between defects characteristic for [0001] and rhombohedral growth.