Characterization of nanocrystallites in porous <i>p</i>-type 6H-SiC

Abstract

We report the formation of porous p-type 6H-SiC. The existence of uniformly dispersed pores was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, with interpore spacings in the range of 1–10 nm. The porous film as a whole is a single crystal. Luminescence peaks above the normal band gap of 6H-SiC have been observed in the porous layer, but were not distinguished in the bulk SiC substrate. Quantum confinement is discussed as a possible mechanism for the luminescence effects.