The elastic constants of silicon carbide: A Brillouin-scattering study of 4H and 6H SiC single crystals

The complete sets of elastic constants of 4H and 6H silicon carbide single crystals were determined by Brillouin scattering. The elastic constants of 6H SiC are C-11=501+/-4, C-33-553+/-4, C-44=163+/-4, C-12=111+/-5, and C-13=52+/-9 GPa; the corresponding ones of 4H SiC are the same within experimental uncertainties. The compressibility, 4.5x10(-3) GPa, is about 3-5 times smaller than those reported for polycrystalline SiC materials. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.