A Study of the Influence Exerted by Structural Defects on Photoluminescence Spectra in n-3C-SiC

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra have been studied in 3 C -SiC/4 H -SiC heterostructures and 3 C ‑SiC single crystals. It was shown that epitaxial 3 C -SiC layers grown on 4 H -SiC substrates have a markedly poorer crystal perfection than do 3 C -SiC single crystals. It was found that doping with aluminum gives rise to a characteristic PL both in epitaxial layers and in 3 C -SiC single crystals. At the same time, the electron irradiation of epitaxial layers does not give rise to defect-related PL, in contrast to what is observed for single crystals. An assumption is made that the twin boundaries existing in epitaxial 3 C -SiC layers can serve as getters of radiation defects that are components of donor–acceptor pairs responsible for the “defect-related” PL.