M. P. Shcheglov

Electron-microscopic investigation of a SiC/Si(111) structure obtained by solid phase epitaxy

First results of the electron-microscopic investigation of thin silicon carbide (SiC) layers grown on silicon using a new method of solid phase epitaxy are presented. It is shown that, at the initial stage of epitaxial growth, a transition layer is formed which consists of various SiC polytypes. This layer occurs at the interface between the substrate and a single-crystalline SiC layer possessing predominantly a 3C polytype structure. It is established that pores with dimensions ranging from a fraction of micron to several dozen nanometers are formed in a near-surface layer of the silicon substrate, which favor the growth of epitaxial, weakly strained single-crystalline SiC layers.

Chloride vapor-phase epitaxy of gallium nitride on silicon: Effect of a silicon carbide interlayer

A new approach is described, according to which the use of a thin silicon carbide (SiC) interlayer ensures the suppression of cracking and the simultaneous release of elastic strain in gallium nitride (GaN) epilayers grown by hydride-chloride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) on 1.5-inch Si(111) substrates. Using this method, 20-μm-thick GaN epilayers have been grown by HVPE on Si substrates with AlN (300 nm) and SiC (100 nm) interlayers. A high quality of the obtained GaN epilayers is confirmed by the photoluminescence spectra, where an exciton band with hvmax = 3.45 eV and a half-width (FWHM) of 68 meV is observed at 77 K, as well as by the X-ray rocking curves exhibiting GaN(0002) reflections with a half-width of ωϑ = 600 arc sec.

X-ray diffraction diagnostics methods as applied to highly doped semiconductor single crystals

Si(As, P, B) and GaSb(Si) single crystals are used as examples to demonstrate the possibilities of methods of X-ray diffraction for the diagnostics (examination of a real structure) of highly doped semiconductor crystals. Prominence is given to characterizing the state of impurity: whether it is in a solid solution or at a certain stage of its decomposition. An optimum combination of X-ray diffraction methods is found to obtain the most complete information on the microsegregation and structural heterogeneity in crystals with low and high X-ray absorption. This combination is based on X-ray diffraction topography and X-ray diffractometry methods having an increased sensitivity to lattice strains.

A study of thick 3C-SiC epitaxial layers grown on 6H-SiC substrates by sublimation epitaxy in vacuum

Abstract3C-SiC epitaxial layers with a thickness of up to 100 µm were grown on 6H-SiC hexagonal substrates by sublimation epitaxy in vacuum. The n-type epitaxial layers with the area in the range 0.3–0.5 cm2 and uncompensated donor concentration Nd − Na ∼ (1017–1018) cm−3 were produced at maximum growth rates of up to 200 µm/h. An X-ray analysis demonstrated that the epitaxial layers are composed of the 3C-SiC polytype, without inclusions of other polytypes. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of the layers was found to be dominated by the donor-acceptor (Al-N) recombination band peaked at hv ≈ 2.12 eV. The PL spectrum measured at 6 K was analyzed in detail. It is concluded that the epitaxial layers obtained can serve as substrates for 3C-SiC-based electronic devices.

Structural defects and deep-level centers in 4H-SiC epilayers grown by sublimational epitaxy in vacuum

The parameters of deep-level centers in lightly doped 4H-SiC epilayers grown by sublimational epitaxy and CVD were investigated. Two deep-level centers with activation energies Ec-0.18 eV and Ec-0.65 eV (Z1 center) were observed and tentatively identified with structural defects of the SiC crystal lattice. The Z1 center concentration is shown to fall with decreasing uncompensated donor concentration Nd-Na in the layers. For the same Nd-Na, the Z1 center concentration is lower in layers with a higher dislocation density.

Aluminum nitride on silicon: Role of silicon carbide interlayer and chloride vapor-phase epitaxy technology

A new approach to the deposition of aluminum nitride (AlN) layers with thicknesses ranging within ∼0.1–10 μm on silicon single crystal substrates by hydride-chloride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) has been developed and implemented, which involves the formation of thin (∼100-nm-thick) intermediate silicon carbide (3C-SiC) interlayers. It is established that wavy convex bands with a height of about 40 nm are present on the surface of as-grown AlN layers, which are situated at the boundaries of blocks in the layer structure. It is suggested that the formation of these wavy structures is related to morphological instability that develops due to accelerated growth of AlN at the block boundaries. Experiments show that, at low deposition rates, AlN layers grow according to a layer (quasi-two-dimensional) mechanism, which allows AlN layers characterized by half-widths (FWHM) of the X-ray rocking curves of (0002) reflections about ωθ = 2100 arc sec to be obtained.

Concentration and structural inhomogeneities in highly doped GaSb(Si) single crystals

Concentration and structural inhomogeneities in highly doped GaSb(Si) single crystals grown under various conditions of heat and mass transfer are studied by methods of X-ray topography, high-resolution X-ray diffractometry, and digital image processing. It is established that the inhomogeneity of crystals is determined by specific features of impurity microsegregation during growth under conditions of nonstationary convection in a melt and by peculiarities of the dislocation structure of crystals. The processes related to the initial stage of the decay of the Si supersaturated solid solution in GaSb contribute considerably to the inhomogeneity of crystals on the micro- and macrolevels.

Deformation of AlGaN/GaN superlattice layers according to x-ray diffraction data

Three-crystal x-ray diffractometry is used for structural studies of nitride AlGaN/GaN superlattices (SLs) grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on sapphire with GaN and AlGaN buffer layers with widely varied SL period (from 50 to 3500 Å), Al content in Alx Ga1−x N layers (0.1≤x≤0.5), and buffer layer composition. Satellite peaks characteristic of SLs are well pronounced up to the third order in θ-2θ scans of symmetric Bragg reflections and θ scans of the symmetric Laue geometry. The corresponding curves are well modeled by kinematic formulas. The average SL parameters, as well as the thickness, composition, and strain of individual layers, are determined using a combination of symmetric Bragg and Laue reflections. It is shown that all the samples under study are partially relaxed structures in which the elastic stresses between the entire SL and the buffer layer, as well as between individual layers, are relaxed. The AlGaN layers are stretched and the GaN layers are compressed. The GaN layer compression is larger in magnitude than the AlGaN layer tension because of thermoelastic stresses.

Prevention of AlN Crystal from Cracking on SiC Substrates by Evaporation of the Substrates

The problem of prevention of AlN crystal layers from cracking under action of thermoelastic stresses during growth of these layers on SiC substrates has been studied. Calculation of residual thermoelastic stresses in AlN/SiC double-layer system has shown that cracking of the AlN layer during cooling is inevitable until this layer becomes at least 15 times thicker than a substrate. The required ratio of the thicknesses of the layer and the substrate can be reached by growing an AlN layer with simultaneous evaporation of the SiC substrate. Experimentally performed evaporation of SiC substrates in one process with growing AlN single layers on them using the sublimation sandwich method has made it possible to prevent these layers from cracking. Continuous (non-cracked) plates with 0.2–0.8 mm thickness without substrates have been obtained as a result of these experiments. According to X-ray images obtained in synchrotron radiation, they consist of single crystalline AlN of 2H polytype, contain dislocations, but do not contain cracks. The degree of crystallinity of these thin plates, which was estimated by the full widths at half-maximum of rocking curves of X-ray diffraction reflections, corresponds to the degree of crystallinity of thick (3–5 mm) AlN layers grown on nonevaporated SiC substrates.

X-ray diffraction study of short-period AlN/GaN superlattices

The structure of short-period hexagonal GaN/AlN superlattices (SLs) has been investigated by X-ray diffraction. The samples have been grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) in a horizontal reactor at a temperature of 1050°C on (0001)Al2O3 substrates using GaN and AlN buffer layers. The SL period changes from 2 to 6 nm, and the thickness of the structure varies in a range from 0.3 to 1 μm. The complex of X-ray diffraction techniques includes a measurement of θ-2θ rocking curves of symmetric Bragg reflection, the construction of intensity maps for asymmetric reflections, a measurement and analysis of peak broadenings in different diffraction geometries, a precise measurement of lattice parameters, and the determination of radii of curvature. The thickness and strain of separate SL layers are determined by measuring the θ-2θ rocking curves subsequent simulation. It is shown that most SL samples are completely relaxed as a whole. At the same time, relaxation is absent between sublayers, which is why strains in the AlN and GaN sublayers (on the order of 1.2 × 10−2) have different signs. An analysis of diffraction peak half-widths allows us to determine the densities of individual sets of dislocations and observe their change from buffer layers to SLs.