Surface oxidation of silicon carbide platelets as studied by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and bremsstrahlung‐excited Auger electron spectroscopy

X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Bremsstrahlung‐excited Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES) were used to study the surface composition and oxidation of silicon carbide platelets which had been heated in air at 500–800° C. The surface oxide thickness for each heating time and temperature was calculated independently from the SiO2/SiC intensity ratios in both the Si 2p XPS and the Si KLL XAES spectra. The results from these two methods agreed to within our calculated experimental error. Both methods revealed that the oxidation rate was non‐linear and non‐parabolic in this temperature range. Boron oxide was observed on the SiC platelets after heat treatment. Boron is used by the manufacturer as a catalyst and remains as an impurity in the SiC platelets.