Low-temperature epitaxial growth of cubic silicon carbide on Si(100) for submicron-pattern fabrication

Abstract

SiC films were selectively grown on patterned SiO2/Si(100) substrates using supersonic molecular jet epitaxy. For film growth, we employed methylsilane seeded in a carrier gas (He or H-2) as a reactant gas. Due to the high translational kinetic energy of methylsilane molecules in the supersonic jet, the growth temperature was as low as 670 degreesC. The reduction of the growth temperature is explained in terms of a decrease in the activation energy and enhancement of the reaction efficiency from methylsilane to the SiC film during film growth. More importantly, a high growth rate of SiC at low temperature yielded submicron patterns of SiC without degradation of the SiO2 mask.