The atomistic structure of the 3C-SiC/Si(001) interface was investigated using a combination of aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy and a newly developed image processing method for eliminating artificial contrast. The structures having periods four times longer than those of the silicon lattice were observed distinctly in images taken along both Si[110] and Si[100] directions. Contrary to theoretical models proposed previously, the interface of the three-dimensional structural model that was constructed on the basis of previous experiments had a silicon-rich configuration. It was clarified that the strain field induced by the two-dimensional misfit between Si(001)-(4 x 4) and SiC(001)-(5 x 5) was relaxed by the two-dimensional network of misfit dislocations; simple edge dislocations with [100] and [010] directions and Lomer dislocations with [110] and [110] directions. The atomistic structures of the Lomer dislocations were also clarified.

Atomic Arrangement at the 3C-SiC/Si(001) Interface Revealed Utilising Aberration-Corrected Transmission Electron Microscope. S.Inamoto, J.Yamasaki, H.Tamaki, N.Tanaka: Philosophical Magazine Letters, 2011, 91[9], 632-9