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Sublimation growth of aluminum nitride on silicon carbide substrate with aluminum nitride–silicon carbide alloy transition layer

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Z. Gu
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506
J.H. Edgar*
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical Engineering, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506
B. Raghothamachar
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794
M. Dudley
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York 11794
D. Zhuang
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
Z. Sitar
Affiliation:
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695
D.W. Coffey
Affiliation:
High Temperature Materials Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831
*
a) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: edgarjh@ksu.edu
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Abstract

The advantages of depositing AlN–SiC alloy transition layers on SiC substrates before the seeded growth of bulk AlN crystals were examined. The presence of AlN–SiC alloy layers helped to suppress the SiC decomposition by providing vapor sources of silicon and carbon. In addition, cracks in the final AlN crystals decreased from ∼5 × 106/mm2 for those grown directly on SiC substrates to less than 1 × 106/mm2 for those grown on AlN–SiC alloy layers because of the intermediate lattice constants and thermal expansion coefficient of AlN–SiC. X-ray diffraction confirmed the formation of pure single-crystalline AlN upon both AlN–SiC alloys and SiC substrates. X-ray topography (XRT) demonstrated that strains present in the AlN crystals decreased as the AlN grew thicker. However, the XRT for AlN crystals grown directly on SiC substrates was significantly distorted with a high overall defect density compared to those grown on AlN–SiC alloys.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2007

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References

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