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F. Triendl, G. Pfusterschmied, S. Schwarz, W. Artner, U. Schmid:
"Si/4H-SiC heterostructure formation using metal-induced crystallization";
Materials Science in Semiconductor Processing, 128 (2021), 105763; 1 - 8.

The possibility to realize crystalline silicon (c-Si) layers on 4H-SiC from sputter-deposited, amorphous Si within a
low-temperature process is investigated by applying metal-induced crystallization (MIC). In a first experimental
series, the basic performance of sputter-deposited Al, Au and Ag thin films as crystallization agents is charac-
terized at temperatures below 275 ◦C. The crystallinity and orientation of the films after MIC are evaluated using
X-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The use of Al revealed
the best orientational crystallization of Si, with a dominant <111> direction perpendicular to the interface. A
strong influence of the metallic thin film microstructure on the MIC process was found. To enhance the film
quality very thin Al layers were used, giving highly crystalline, epitaxially connected c-Si/4H-SiC interfaces with
only few remaining Al islands.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mssp.2021.105763