Growth and characterization of epitaxial Ti3GeC2 thin films on 4H-SiC(0001)

Epitaxial Ti3GeC2 thin films were deposited on 4 degrees off-cut 4H-SiC(0001) using magnetron sputtering from high purity Ti, C, and Ge targets. Scanning electron microscopy and helium ion microscopy show that the Ti3GeC2 films grow by lateral step-flow with {11 (2) over bar0} faceting on the SiC surface. Using elastic recoil detection analysis, atomic force microscopy, and X-Ray diffraction the films were found to be substoichiometric in Ge with the presence of small Ge particles at the surface of the film. Funding Agencies|VINN Excellence Center in Research and Innovation on Functional Nanoscale Materials (FunMat) by Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA)||The status of this article was previously Manuscript.