Extended Characterization of the Stress Fields in the Heteroepitaxial Growth of 3C-SiC on Silicon for Sensors and Device Applications

Using several characterization techniques (μ-Raman, mechanical profilometer and microstructure deflections) together with a recent stress model[ ] we study the heteroepitaxial growth of cubic silicon carbide on silicon (100). We show that the observed inconsistency between experimental results might be the result of defects generated on the silicon substrate during the carbonization process. In such a situation wafer curvature techniques do not allow the determination of the stress field in the grown films neither quantitatively nor qualitatively.