Sublimation furnace (200) for the formation of
silicon carbide, comprising a furnace jacket (201), at least one
heating element (202) arranged outside the furnace jacket (201), and a
hot zone (203) arranged inside the furnace jacket (201) surrounded by insulation (204), wherein the
hot zone (203) comprises: a) a
crucible (210) having an upper region (220) and a lower region (240); b) a
crucible cover (215) that tightly seals the
crucible (210); c) a
solid silicon carbide precursor arranged in the lower region (240) of the crucible (210), and d) a
seed crystal module arranged in the upper region (220) of the crucible (210), the
seed crystal module comprising: (1) a
silicon carbide seed crystal (100) having an upper surface (150) and a lower surface (160), wherein the upper surface (150) is exposed to the upper region (220) of the crucible (210), and the lower surface (160) is facing the
solid silicon carbide precursor and the lower region (240) of the crucible (210), and (2) a seed
crystal holder (120) having an upper section and a lower section holding the seed
crystal (100) between them, the seed
crystal holder (120) comprising a plurality of vapor release openings (130) formed around a central axis (215) of the seed crystal holder (120); and e) a vapor release ring (280) arranged above the upper section of the seed crystal holder (120), the vapor release ring (280) having one or more holes (270) aligned with one or more vent holes (260) formed in the crucible (210), wherein the plurality of vapor release openings (130) of the seed crystal holder (120), the one or more holes (270) of the vapor release ring (280), and the one or more vent holes (260) of the crucible (210) together form a path for vapors to escape from the crucible (210).