Abstract
The effects of Al addition to Si–Ni flux on the flux-mediated pulsed laser deposition of SiC thin films were investigated. A small amount of 3 at.% Al addition was found to cause the dominant growth of a polytype of 6H–SiC (0001) at an early stage of the deposition on a 4H–SiC (0001) on-axis substrate even at a low growth temperature of 1160°C, at which a single polytype of 3C–SiC (111) film is thermodynamically favored. The direct observation of the interface between SiC and Si–Ni based flux with our originally developed high-vacuum laser microscope revealed that the dissolution behavior of SiC into Si–Ni–Al flux becomes milder than that before Al addition to Si–Ni flux. This feature is not inconsistent with the commonly accepted surface flattening effect of Al addition to the Si–Cr solvent in the flux growth of SiC bulk single crystals, and might be partially responsible for the initial preference of the 6H–SiC (0001) polytype growth.
