ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPY STUDY OF MICROCRYSTALLINE SIC FABRICATED BY ION-BEAM SYNTHESIS

Ion beam synthesis of silicon carbide (SiC) layers was performed by me tal vapor vacuum are implantation. Subsequent furnace annealing was ca rried out in nitrogen at various temperatures to form stoichiometric S iC layers. The implanted layers were characterized by various techniqu es. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analysis revealed the carbo n distribution and formation of the SiC layers. Fourier transform infr ared spectroscopy spectra showed absorption peaks produced by the amor phous and beta-phase crystalline SiC layers. The crystallinity was inc reased by high temperature annealing. The dependence of the surface mo rphology and dynamics of the crystallization on annealing temperature and time was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) for the first ti me. At about 900 degrees C, nanocrystalline SiC was formed on the samp le surface and contained columnar grains with a full width of half max imum of tens of nanometers and a height of 10 nm. A conducting AFM was used to study the electrical properties of the formed SiC layer on th e nanometer scale. (C) 1998 American Vacuum Society.