A Comparative Study on Synthesizing SiC via Carbonization of Si (001) and Si (111) Substrates by Chemical Vapor Deposition

TL;DR

This study compares the synthesis of silicon carbide on two different silicon substrates using chemical vapor deposition at high temperatures.

Contribution

The novelty lies in comparing Si (001) and Si (111) substrates for SiC synthesis under controlled, short-duration conditions.

Findings

X-ray and optical analyses revealed differences in film quality between the two substrates.

Short synthesis durations minimized experimental variability and improved reproducibility.

Transmission electron microscopy showed structural variations in the resulting SiC thin films.

Abstract

This work presents a comparative analysis of the results of silicon carbide synthesis through the carbonization of Si (001) and Si (111) substrates in the temperature range 1130–1140 °C. The synthesis involved chemical vapor deposition utilizing thermally stimulated methane reduction in a hydrogen gas stream. The experiments employed an Oxford Nanofab Plasmalab System 100 apparatus on substrates from which the native oxide was removed according to established protocols. To minimize random experimental variations (e.g., deviations from set parameters), short synthesis durations of 3 and 5 min were analyzed. The resultant thin films underwent evaluations through several techniques, including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, optical emission spectroscopy with glow discharge, and transmission electron microscopy. A comparison and analysis were conducted between the results from both substrate orientations.

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