Epitaxial 3C-SiC nanocrystal formation at the Si[O.sub.2]/Si interface by combined carbon implantation and annealing in CO atmosphere

A low dose carbon implantation and high temperature annealing in CO atmosphere were applied to grow epitaxially high quality 3C-SiC nanocrystallites on (100) Si wafers covered by a 150 nm thick Si[O.sub.2] capping layer. Conventional and high resolution transmission electron microscopy were used to gain insight into formation of the nucleation of silicon-carbon clusters at the Si[O.sub.2]/Si interface as well as the morphology, the size, and the density of the inamoratas.