Cubic silicon carbide (t-SiC) films have been grown epitaxially on silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) substrates by chemical vapor deposition. A fresh layer of silicon is first deposited in situ on the SOS substrate at approximately 1050 °C. The silicon layer is then carbonized while being heated to 1360 °C. The t-SiC layer is grown at 1360 °C using silane and propane as sources, t-SiC films can also be grown directly on the SOS substrate without utilizing a fresh silicon layer. Deposition of t-SiC films on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates has also been accomplished with slight modification of the growth parameters described above.
The t-SiC films have been characterized by IR reflectance spectroscopy, optical microscopy and electron microscopy. Typical films are 7 #m thick and have a specular surface with some physical features. Electrical transport properties as determined by the Van der Pauw Hall method show the t-SiC films to be p-type while those grown on SOl were n-type. X-ray rocking curve measurements were obtained to determine the crystalline quality of the films. In addition, preliminary optical characterization of the films has been performed.