Ion Beam Synthesis of SiC in Silicon-on-Insulator

Ion beam synthesis of ß-SiC in the top-Si-layer of a SIMOX (Separation by Implantation of OXygen) substrate is reported.
All the implanted C is captured inside the 200 nm top-Si-layer and is accumulated preferentially at the Si/SiO2-interface during annealing. A Si/SiC/SiO2-structure is obtained by C implantation at high temperature (T>500 °C) and subsequent annealing treatment (T=1250 °C). It consists of a crystalline Si overlayer, a Si layer with a high density of perfectly aligned ß-SiC grains and a buried oxide layer. Implantation at elevated temperatures is crucial for the quality of the SiC layer. However, the use of such implantation temperatures is limited by the dissolution of the buried oxide layer.