Spectroscopic study of SiC-like structures formed on polycrystalline silicon sheets during growth

Edge-defined film-fed grown polycrystalline silicon sheets, grown with one face exposed to oxidizing CO gas added to the inert Ar atmosphere, were studied. Interaction of CO with molten silicon surface during growth produced SiC-like structures in a thin layer on the surface exposed to CO. Infrared spectroscopy results suggest that this layer is constituted of good quality SiC ; however, Raman and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that it consists of Si1− xCx in the form of small crystallites mixed with C- and O-rich silicon. Journal of Applied Physics is copyrighted by The American Institute of Physics.