Epitaxial growth and characterization of silicon carbide films

Silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial layers have been grown in a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system designed and fabricated in our laboratory. Silicon tetrachloride–propane as well as silane–propane were used as precursor gases. The hot zone was designed based on simulation by using numerical modeling. Growth rates up to 200 μm could be achieved. A new growth-assisted hydrogen etching was developed to show the distribution of the micropipes present in the substrate. Higher growth rate was observed on off-axis (0 0 0 1) 4 H SiC compared to the on-axis (0 0 0 1) wafer and growth mechanism was explained.