Optimal temperature of crystallization and photoluminescence of SiC/Si (100) film prepared by pulsed ArF excimer laser deposition

By ablating a ceramic SiC target with pulsed ArF excimer laser, SiC films were prepared on Si (100) substrate. After annealing in vacuum (10^-3 Pa) at different temperatures, the films were examined with FTIR, XRD, TEM, XPS and PL spectroscopy to investigate the optimal temperature of crystallization, surface morphology, crystal structure and composition. The films deposited on Si(100) substrates at 800°C are all composed of amorphous SiC. The nucleation-growth transformation occurs in SiC films annealed in vacuum at a temperature between 850°C and 1050°C. The films are crystallized optimally at 980°C. The transformation from 3C-SiC to 6H-SiC and/or the growth and annihilation of 3C-SiC may occur in the films with the increase of the annealing temperature (6H-SiC and/or 3C-SiC exist in the film annealed at the optimal temperature). Excited by 370 nm light at room temperature, the film shows a strong emission peak at 447 nm. The emission may be assigned to the recombined radiative transition between the valence band and the shallow donor levels induced by the vacancies and other crystal defects.