Specific features of morphology and the structure of nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide films grown on a silicon surface

The composition, surface morphology, and crystal structure of nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide films grown on a silicon surface through chemical conversion from hexane vapors have been studied using various methods of analysis (transmission electron microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, white light interference microscopy, electron diffraction, and X-ray diffraction). The characteristics of the 3 C-SiC films prepared on the Si(100) and the Si(111) substrates are compared. For the 3CSiC/ Si(111) heterostructures, the specific features of the shapes, sizes, and crystal structure of islands formed on the growth surface are analyzed by different methods. It is shown that the growth patterns on the surface form a close-packed nanocrystalline texture with a grain size of less than 50 nm. Electron diffraction patterns obtained from the growth patterns on the film surface demonstrate the occurrence of an additional superperiod that is related to the screw axes in the space group of the crystal symmetry elements.