Characterization of 3C-SiC thin films grown on Si surfaces patterned with various periods and depths

The effects of pattern dimension on the quality of cubic SiC thin films were investigated, grown on patterned Si substrates using the chemical vapor deposition technique. Results of various characterization techniques indicated that the quality of SiC films on the patterned substrates does not noticeably improve. It was observed from high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD) that SiC films on scratched surfaces (≤10-nm deep) show comparable quality to SiC on flat Si, and the quality of the SiC grown on substrates with saw-tooth patterns (∼25-nm or ∼75-nm deep) might even be lower than that of the SiC/flat-Si films.