The formation of in-grown stacking faults in chemical vapour deposited 4H-SiC epilayers was studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and low-temperature photoluminescence. Local inhomogeneities in the stacking fault density were found, where different SF arrangements appear. They range from pure 8H-SiC unit cells to a few distinguished sequences, forming in some cases long-range semi-periodic incommensurate structures. Despite such large dispersion, the same optical low-temperature photoluminescence signature was always found.

Combined Structural and Optical Studies of Stacking Faults in 4H-SiC Layers Grown by Chemical Vapour Deposition. M.Marinova, T.Robert, S.Juillaguet, I.Tsiaoussis, N.Frangis, E.Polychroniadis, J.Camassel, T.Chassagne: Physica Status Solidi A, 2009, 206[8], 1924-30