Epitaxial layers of aluminum nitride less than or equal to335 mum thick have been grown attemperatures of 1900 and 2100degreesC on 10 x 10 mm(2) (0001)-oriented alpha(4H) silicon carbide (SiC), with growth times of 1 and 4h, via sublimation-recondensation in a RF-heated graphite furnace. The source material was polycrystalline AIN. The sublimation process was performed in three types of graphite (C) crucible: C-1, C-2 with inner diameters of 35 and 51 mm, respectively, and C-3 with the same inner diameter as C-1, but coated with a layer of TaC. The surface morphology reflects the hexagonal symmetry of the substrate, suggesting an epitaxial growth for samples grown in C-1 and C-3 crucibles for all growth conditions. The same symmetry is observed for AIN layers grown in the C-2 crucible, but only at 2100degreesC. X-ray diffraction analyses confirm the epitaxial growth of AIN samples with the expected hexagonal symmetry. A high-resolution X-ray diffractometer was used to assess the quality of the single crystals. A full width at half maximum of 242 arcsec was achieved for an AIN layer grown in the crucible coated with TaC. (C) 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers.
