Surface carbonization of Si(1 0 0) by C2H2 and its effects on the subsequent SiC(1 0 0) epitaxial film growth Original Research Article

Surface carbonization of Si(1 0 0) using C2H2 as the carbon source was performed in a cold-wall-type chemical vapor deposition reactor at a low pressure of 5 Torr. The carbonization process as a function of C2H2 partial pressure and treatment time was investigated using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. It was found that in comparison with a complete transformation to SiC surface on Si(1 1 1) by 8 min treatment of 5×10−2 Torr C2H2 at 1343 K, the carbonization on Si(1 0 0) under the same condition forms excessive carbon, plausibly due to the larger C2H2 adsorption heat on Si(1 0 0) surface. Reducing C2H2 partial pressure to 1.8×10−3 Torr and treatment time to 2 min was enough for Si(1 0 0) to form a saturated carbide layer of about 2.0 nm in thickness. Subsequent 3C–SiC(1 0 0) epitaxial film growth was found successful especially on a 10 s carbonization-treated surface that has the least amount of excessive carbon.