Direct observation and identification of long-period structures of SiC by transmission electron microscopy

Transmission electron microscopy has been used for the observation of polytypes of SiC having very long periods. The periodicity of these structures can be observed from the direct resolution of structural lattice periods and from the diffraction patterns. The actual structures can be determined from the intensity distribution in the diffraction pattern, and this has been done for two of the structures. These have been identified as [(33)1632]3 or 303R and [(33)634(33)434]3 or 222R, two hitherto unknown structures. A mechanism for conveying the long-distance information concerning the stacking order which leads to stabilization of the long-period structures in SiC is suggested. This mechanism essentially involves a transformation from a basic structure of short period to accommodate a constraint from the surroundings.