Epitaxial growth of the pseudo-binary wide band gap semiconductor SiCAlN

The growth of single-phase SiCAlN epitaxial films from mutually insoluble components SiC and AlN is accomplished by molecular beam epitaxy via the use of a specially designed unimolecular precursor H ₃ SiCN. The film growth takes place on 6H-SiC(0 0 0 1) and Si(1 1 1) substrates at 750 °C. The growth on Si(111) does not require prior removal of the native oxide layer. In situ reaction of the oxide layer with fluxes of Al atoms and the H ₃ SiCN precursor transforms the amorphous oxide into a Si-Al-O-N crystalline interface on which heteroepitaxy of SiCAlN proceeds. Theoretical structural models of the hexagonal SiCAlN agree well with the experimental microstructure observed in cross-sectional electron microscopy images. Calculations show a fundamental band gap at 3.2 eV for the stoichiometric SiCAlN, in agreement with photoluminescence data.