A series of low-pressure chemical vapour deposition experiments and gas-surface chemical kinetic simulations were carried out to achieve significant reductions of twin and protrusion in 3C-SiC heteroepitaxial growth on Si(100) substrates. A two-step epitaxial process, consisting of a nucleation stage and a subsequent epitaxial stage, was newly proposed by comparisons between experimental results and numerical predictions. The twin formation was successfully suppressed under the growth conditions of the nucleation stage leading to a relative flux ratio of C to Si larger than 56 on the deposition surface. The surface protrusion density was decreased from 7.5 x 106 to 6.5 x 104/cm2 when the conventional carbonization process was replaced with the proposed nucleation stage.

Reductions of Twin and Protrusion in 3C-SiC Heteroepitaxial Growth on Si(100). J.Yun, T.Takahashi, T.Mitani, Y.Ishida, H.Okumura: Journal of Crystal Growth, 2006, 291[1], 148-53