β-SiC nanorods synthesized by hot filament chemical vapor deposition

TLDR

A one‑step hot‑filament CVD process grows β‑SiC nanorods on Si by reacting a solid graphite‑silicon plate with hydrogen, where metallic impurities catalyze the formation of SiC from hydrocarbon and hydrosilicon radicals. The resulting nanorods are 10–30 nm wide, less than 1 µm long, grow along the [100] direction, and feature a crystalline β‑SiC core surrounded by an amorphous silicon‑oxide shell.

Abstract

A one-step procedure has been developed to grow β-SiC nanorods from a solid carbon and silicon source on a Si substrate by hot filament chemical vapor deposition. This process is catalyzed by metallic particles which come from impurities in the solid source which is a plate made by pressing a mixture graphite and silicon powders at 150 °C. Hydrogen was introduced into the reaction chamber to react with the solid plate to produce hydrocarbon and hydrosilicon radicals which presumably reacted to form SiC nanorods. The nanorods consisted of a crystalline β-SiC core with an amorphous silicon oxide shell layer and grew along the [100] direction. The nanorods were 10–30 nm in diameter and less than 1 μm in length.