Jean François Michaud

Silicon growth on 3C-SiC(001)/Si(001): pressure influence and thermal effect

We evaluate the influence of the growth parameters on the crystal quality of Si films grown by chemical vapor deposition on 3C-SiC(001)/Si (001) epilayers. It is shown that the pressure plays a major role on the final quality of the films, with two distinct growth regimes. The defects in the films were found to be antiphase boundaries and μ-twins. The influence of the growth parameters as well as the 3CSiC structural properties on these defects are discussed. The impact of a subsequent thermal annealing, under different gas environments, is also investigated and reveals some noticeable differences according to the gas environment used in the annealing process.

Low specific contact resistance to 3C-SiC grown on (100) Si substrates

In this work, ohmic contacts, formed by 100nm Ni layer RTA annealed or not, were investigated on 3C-SiC epilayers exhibiting different nitrogen doping levels. The epilayers were grown on (100) silicon. Doping level (N) and eventual dopant contamination (Al) were analyzed by C-V and/or SIMS. The specific contact resistance was determined by using Transmission Line Model (TLM) patterns for each condition (doping and annealing). Our results clearly evidence that very low specific contact resistance (~10-51.cm²) is obtained on highly doped 3C-SiC epilayers, enlightening the interest of both material and Ni contacts for future devices fabrication.

Elaboration of Monocrystalline Si Thin Film on 3C-SiC(100)/Si Epilayers by Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition

The growth of continuous silicon monocrystalline thin films on 3C-SiC epilayers deposited on silicon substrates is presented in this study. Such heterostructures can be beneficial for the fabrication of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems or electronic applications. The elaboration of these heterostructures was carried out using Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition. X-ray Diffraction, Fourier Transformed Infra-Red spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy have been used to investigate the structural properties of Si epilayers and their dependence on growth conditions. Monocrystalline Si (110) films are obtained on 3CSiC(100)/Si (100) substrates, only when using growth temperatures close to 850°C. The strong influence of the underlying 3C-SiC film on the final structural properties of Si epilayer is evidenced.

Recent Advances in Surface Preparation of Silicon Carbide and other Wide Band Gap Materials

In this contribution we recapitulate the state of the art of silicon carbide and related materials polishing. Since the demonstration (by Vicente et al) of an ultimate preparation of Si-face -SiC wafers some important progresses were made in the field of surface preparation of silicon carbide and related materials. This concerns the industrial, high output treatments of substrates of increasing size, as well as the research studies of the feasibility of new preparation approaches for wide band gap materials. We also discuss the problems related to the polishing of the polycrystalline material and to the planarization of epilayers.

Turning the undesired voids in silicon into a tool: In-situ fabrication of free-standing 3C-SiC membranes

In this contribution, we present a method to form free-standing cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC) membranes in-situ during the growth stage. To do so, we exploit the presence of voids in the silicon (Si) epilayer underneath the 3C-SiC membrane, in stark contrast to the conventional view of voids as defects. The shape and the size of the 3C-SiC membranes can be controlled by a preceding patterning step of the Si epilayer. Afterwards, by controlling the expansion of voids in Si, the structured sacrificial layer is consumed during the 3C-SiC growth step. Consequently, the membranes are grown and released simultaneously in a single step process. This straightforward technique is expected to markedly simplify the fabrication process of membranes by reducing the fabrication duration and cost. Furthermore, it helps to overcome several technical issues and presents the cornerstone for micro and nano-electromechanical systems applications, profiting from the outstanding properties of cubic silicon carbide.

3C-SiC: New Interest for MEMS Devices

The aim of this paper is to review the recent developments conducted by our groups for the achievement of 3C-SiC based heterostructures compatible for MEMS applications. It deals with different aspects, from the influence of the defects generated at the 3C-SiC/Si interface on the mechanical properties to the elaboration of new multilayered structures, required for specific applications like, for example, Atomic Force Microscopy.

ICP Etching of 4H-SiC Substrates

Due to its inert chemical nature, plasma etching is the most effective technique to pattern SiC. In this paper, dry etching of 4H-SiC substrate in Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) has been studied in order to evaluate the impact of process parameters on the characteristics of etching such as etch rate and trenching effect. Key process parameters such as platen power and ICP coil power prove to be essential to control the SiC etch rate. On the other hand, the ICP coil power and the working pressure mainly master the trenching effect. Our results enlighten that high etch rate with minimal trenching effect can be obtained using high ICP coil power and low working pressure.

Ti Thickness Influence for Ti/Ni Ohmic Contacts on N-Type 3C-SiC

We report on the influence of titanium thickness on the structural and electrical properties of annealed Ti/Ni ohmic contacts on highly doped n-type 3C-SiC. Electrical analysis by means of circular transfer length method demonstrate that an interlayer of titanium with thickness in the range of 25-150 nm has no significant influence on specific contact resistance. However, from a structural point of view, the formation of nickel silicides as well as Ti3SiC2 is severely affected by the titanium thickness. Moreover, the Kirkendall effect due to the reaction between Ni and SiC is influenced by the titanium thickness. In fact, Scanning Electron Microscopy analysis demonstrates that the adjunction of titanium affects the distribution of Kirkendall voids in the contact. Current maps determined by conductive Atomic Force Microscopy reveal significant variation of uniformity according to the titanium thickness.

Electrical Characterization of Nitrogen Implanted 3C-SiC by SSRM and C­TLM Measurements

Two electrical characterization methods were used to study 3C-SiC epilayers doped by nitrogen implantation: circular Transfer Length Method (cTLM) which allows extracting the specific contact resistance and Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscopy (SSRM) used to measure activated doping concentration. 3C-SiC samples were implanted at room temperature with different energies (ranging from 30 to 150keV) and doses (from 1 to 5.4x1015cm-2) in order to obtain a 300nm thick box-like profile at 5x1020cm-3. To activate the dopant, the samples were then annealed from 1150°C to 1350°C for 1h to 4h. Titanium-nickel c-TLM contacts annealed at 1000°C under argon showed the best results in terms of specific contact resistance (8x10-6.cm2) after a 1350°C–1h annealing. For this annealing condition, the activation rate was assessed by SSRM around 13%. This value confirms the difficulty to activate the dopants introduced into the 3C-SiC as the temperature is limited by the silicon substrate. However, this work demonstrates that low resistance values can be achieved on 3C-SiC, using nitrogen implantation at room temperature.

Novel 3C-SiC Microstructure for MEMS Applications

The aim of this paper is to review the recent developments conducted for the achievement of 3C-SiC‑based heterostructures compatible with MEMS applications. Indeed, the research activities engaged since years permitted to demonstrate that the defect density has an impact towards the Young’s modulus of sub-micron 3C‑SiC epilayers. We also gained knowledge about the stress relaxation mechanisms, targeting to master the stress gradient, as stress is a key parameter to consider MEMS applications.Based on these results, we investigated the elaboration of microstructures using 3C‑SiC/Si/3C‑SiC stacks on silicon substrates. Our first noticeable result was the elaboration of a (110)-oriented 3C‑SiC membrane on a 3C‑SiC pseudo-substrate, using the silicon epilayer as a sacrificial one. But the surface of the 3C‑SiC membrane was facetted and rough, which could hamper its use for the development of new MEMS devices. Then, with further improvements, we succeeded to master the growth of a (111)‑oriented 3C‑SiC epilayer. This feature led to a drastic reduction of the roughness in comparison with the (110) orientation. Actually, using the same experimental protocol than previously, we succeeded to complete a (111)‑oriented 3C‑SiC membrane with a RMS roughness limited to 9nm. Such an optimized structure could be the starting point for the achievement of new MEMS devices operating in harsh environment or for medical applications benefiting of the 3C‑SiC biocompatibility