Experimental studies were made of the Hall mobilities of electrons in tensile strained layers having a substitutional C content of 0.4%, plus various concentrations of interstitial C. Although the lattice distortion due to misfit strain, and therefore the band alignment, were identical for all of the samples, factor-of-2 differences were found in the electron mobility; due to the differing concentrations of interstitial C. At the highest interstitial C concentration (1020/cm3), it was not possible to obtain any reliable electrical data. It was demonstrated that it was insufficient to consider only strain when evaluating the electrical properties of C-containing layers. Given growth conditions could lead to very different properties, due to the differing amounts of interstitial C; even for pseudomorphically strained layers having the same lattice mismatch and band alignment.

Influence of Interstitial Carbon Defects on Electron Transport in Strained SiC Layers on Si(001) H.J.Osten, J.Griesche, P.Gaworzewski, K.D.Bolze: Applied Physics Letters, 2000, 76[2], 200-2