Cubic (111)-oriented 3C-SiC hetero-epitaxy onto a (110) Si substrate was performed by means of low-pressure chemical vapour deposition. A comparison with previous work showed that the relationship (110)Si||(111)3C-SiC could be misleading. Based upon X-ray diffraction pole figures and numerical simulations, it was proved that this relationship was due to the formation of second-order twins during the initial stages of growth. This analysis also revealed that the crystal started to grow with a misalignment of 3.5° along the <002> Si direction so as to adapt the mismatch of lattice parameters.

Heteroepitaxial Growth of (111) 3C-SiC on (110) Si Substrate by Second Order Twins. R.Anzalone, C.Bongiorno, A.Severino, G.D'Arrigo, G.Abbondanza, G.Foti, F.La Via: Applied Physics Letters, 2008, 92[22], 224102