CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURE OF BETA-SILICON CARBIDE IMPLANTED WITH HIGH-DOSE ALUMINUM

Single-crystal beta-SiC was implanted with aluminum to 3.90 x 10(17) ions/cm2 at 168 keV at 773 K. The resultant compositional and structural characteristics were studied by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. No aluminum redistribution was observed during implantation. The Si-to-C ratio exhibited a negative deviation from unity in the implanted region. The shift in the photoelectron binding energies indicated the formation of aluminum carbide. The studies by electron microscopy showed that the implanted region consists of slightly misoriented beta-SiC crystals and textured crystalline aluminum carbide precipitates