Compositional and structural studies of DC magnetron sputtered SiC films on Si(111)

Polycrystalline SiC films were deposited on Si(lll) by reactive DC magnetro n sputtering using a four inch elemental silicon target. Composition of the deposited films was studied by AES (auger electron spectroscopy) and RES ( Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy) which showed that stoichiometric Si C could be obtained. Both AES depth profile and RES indicated the existence of a transition layer. XRD (X-ray diffraction) analysis revealed the forma tion of polycrystalline SiC films at a substrate temperature as low as 1123 K, and the absence of other peaks in XRD patterns except the SIC(111) peak implied that the films were (111) oriented. Furthermore, the films were fo und to consist of columnar nanometer sized crystallites by cross-section TE M (transmission electron microscopy) study. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.