Papers by Author: Kenji Kisoda

Abstract: We report microscopic Raman scattering studies of epitaxial graphene grown on SiC substrates using a deep-ultraviolet (UV) laser excitation at 266 nm to elucidate the interaction between the graphene layer and the substrate. The samples were grown on the Si-face of vicinal 6H-SiC (0001) substrates by sublimation of Si from SiC. The G band of the epitaxial graphene layer was clearly observed without any data manipulation. Increasing the number of graphene layers, the peak frequency of the G-band decreases linearly, while the peak width and the intensity increase. The G-band frequency of the graphene layers on SiC is higher than those of exfoliated graphene, which has been ascribed to compression from the substrate.

Abstract: We have presented a combined method of microscopic measurements between Raman scattering and polarizing optical microscope to characterize inhomogeneous residual stress distributions around dislocations in 4H- and 6H-SiC wafers. First, stressed portions were found in wafers by an optical polarizing microscope under a crossed Nicole arrangement. Then, the portions were examined by Raman-imaging technique for lateral variations of phonon spectra. The residual stresses were quantified from the phonon-peak frequency shift using a known frequency-shift rate for 6H-SiC. Characterization to the depth direction was also conducted by surface etching with molten KOH. The stresses typically amounted to the order of 100 MPa. In a 4H-SiC homoepitaxial wafer sample, we observed threading dislocations transferred from the substrate to the epitaxial layer, and found that larger stress fields existed in the epitaxial layer than the substrate. We also observed stress distributions around compressively stressed sub-grain boundaries.