Synthesis of α-SiC from tetramethylsilane by chemical vapor deposition at high temperature

Abstract

Tetramethylsilane (TMS) is a common liquid-phase precursor that is used in the synthesis of β-SiC by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). At temperatures above 1500 °C, however, it has been shown that C is also formed together with SiC. In this study, based on thermodynamic modeling, we report on the successful synthesis of single-phase SiC with no evidence of the inclusion of C from TMS through CVD at temperatures over 1900 °C. X-ray diffraction data showed that α-SiC phases are formed at temperatures over 2000 °C. On the basis of these results, TMS can be used as a precursor for α-SiC synthesis.