Reduced temperature growth of crystalline 3C-SiC films on 6H-SiC by chemical vapor deposition from silacyclobutane

3C- on 6H-SiC (0001) epitaxial growth from the single-source organosilane precursor silacylobutane (c-C3H6SiH2) has been investigated over the temperature range of 800–1100 °C. Spectrophotometry was used to determine an optical absorption edge of ∼2.27 eV for the films grown at 900 °C, corresponding approximately to the energy band gap of 3C-SiC. The crystallinity, structure, strain, and dislocation density in the 3C-SiC thin films were determined using double crystal x-ray diffractometry (DCXRD). The films grown at 800–1000 °C were found to be exclusively 3C-SiC. The films grown at 1100 °C were a mixture of 3C, 4H, and 6H polytypes of SiC. All films shown an excellent surface morphology. The optimum films are obtained at 900 °C, exhibiting structural properties nearly equal to those of the substrate: narrow DCXRD peak width (∼17 arcsec) and low dislocation density (∼3×106 cm2).