A novel approach for the growth of high-quality on-axis
epitaxial silicon carbide (SiC) films and boules, using the
Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) technique, is described here. The method includes a method of substrate preparation, which allows for the growth of “on-axis” SiC films, plus an approach giving the opportunity to grow
silicon carbide on singular (a small-angle miscut) substrates, using halogenated carbon-containing precursors (
carbon tetrachloride, CCl4, or halogenated hydrocarbons, CHCl3, CH2Cl2, or CH3Cl, or similar compounds or chemicals), or introducing other
chlorine-containing species, in the
gas phase, in the growth chamber. At gas mixtures greater than the critical amount, small clusters of SiC are etched, before they can become stable nuclei. The presence of
chlorine and the formation of gas species allow an increased removal rate of these nuclei, in contrast to the growth without the presence of
chlorine. Or, alternatively, the novel precursors introduced in the growth
system reduce the effective
supersaturation ratio of the Si species in the growth layer. The reduction of the
supersaturation ratio reduces or eliminates the 2D (and 3C—SiC)
nucleation which would occur due to the large terrace widths present on the on-axis wafers. This allows the growth of
Silicon Carbide epitaxial
layers on SiC substrates or composite substrates with monocrystalline
layers. This can also be applied to the other semiconductors, chemicals, compounds, materials, growth methods, or devices.