Homoepitaxial 6H-SiC thin films by vapor–liquid–solid mechanism

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a IV–IV compound semiconductor with a wide energy band gap. Because of its outstanding properties, SiC can be used in high-power, high-temperature devices with high radiation resistance. In this study, a two-step vapor–liquid–solid (VLS) method was proposed for homoepitaxial growth of high quality 6H-SiC thin films, combining VLS growth and conventional chemical vapor deposition (CVD) processes. VLS growth was used to eliminate the micro-pipes (MPs) in the first step, and the subsequent step based on the CVD process was employed to improve the surface roughness. The morphology and structure of the as-grown thin films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and high-resolution X-ray diffraction, showing that thin films grown by two-step method have good crystalline quality and small surface roughness.