The effect of iron on the surface graphitization of single crystalline silicon carbide wafer through thermal decomposition

In this study, a method for low temperature (1100oC) surface graphitization of single crystalline silicon carbide (SiC) is developed. In order to decrease the decomposition temperature of SiC, Fe solutions in different molarities and Fe thin films with various thicknesses were applied on SiC substrate by solution technique and electron beam deposition, respectively. After that, samples were first hydrogen and then vacuum annealed. Samples before and after annealing were characterized using various imaging and spectroscopic techniques such as SEM, EDX, XRD, XPS and Raman Spectroscopy. The effects of catalyst application method and the catalyst thicknesses were investigated systematically. The results showed that Fe can be effectively used to extract the silicon atoms from SiC at lower temperatures, resulting in graphitic structure formation. The presented approach may be useful for decreasing the graphene synthesis temperature which is very critical for semiconductor processing.