Influence of growth parameters on the residual strain in 3C-SiC epitaxial layers on (001) silicon

3C-SiC epitaxial layers were grown on on-axis Si (001) substrates by low-pressure hot-wall chemical vapour deposition. Depending on the growth parameters, the residual strain in the 3C-SiC layer was seen to be tensile or compressive. In this work, the influence of parameters, such as growth temperature and C/Si ratio in the vapour phase, on residual strain and macroscopic layer bow is investigated. We found that the wafer bow changes from convex, at a deposition temperature of 1270 degrees C, to concave at 1370 degrees C. High resolution x-ray diffraction data indicate that the crystalline perfection of the layers is lower for decreasing deposition temperature and increasing compressive strain. No remarkable influence of the C/Si ratio in the gaseous atmosphere on the FWHM of the rocking curve was observed.