Solid phase epitaxy of implantation-induced amorphous layer in (1100)- and (1120)-oriented 6H-SiC

The epitaxial regrowth of the implantation-induced amorphous layer in (11̄00)- and (112̄0)-oriented 6H-SiC has been investigated at annealing temperatures below 800 °C using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and transmission electron microscopy. The surface region of sample is amorphized by the Ar+ ion implantation with an energy of 100 keV at a dose of 2×1015/cm2. The implantation-induced amorphous layer epitaxially regrows at annealing temperatures above 700 °C without the inclusion of other polytype crystals such as 3C-SiC and twinned defects. The regrowth rate is estimated to be about 0.4 nm/min at 700 °C and is proportional to the annealing temperature with an activation energy of about 3.4 eV for both (11̄00)- and (112̄0)-oriented 6H-SiC.