In Situ Doping of Nitrogen in <110>-Oriented Bulk 3C-SiC by Halide Laser Chemical Vapour Deposition

Doping of nitrogen is a promising approach to improve the electrical conductivity of 3C-SiC and allow its application in various fields. N-doped, < 110 >-oriented 3C-SiC bulks with different doping concentrations were prepared via halide laser chemical vapour deposition (HLCVD) using tetrachlorosilane (SiCl4) and methane (CH4) as precursors, along with nitrogen (N-2) as a dopant. We investigated the effect of the volume fraction of nitrogen (phi(N2)) on the preferred orientation, microstructure, electrical conductivity (sigma), deposition rate (R-dep), and optical transmittance. The preference of 3C-SiC for the < 110 > orientation increased with increasing phi(N2). The sigma value of the N-doped 3C-SiC bulk substrates first increased and then decreased with increasing phi(N2), reaching a maximum value of 7.4 x 10(2) S/m at phi(N2) = 20%. R-dep showed its highest value (3000 mu m/h) for the undoped sample and decreased with increasing phi(N2), reaching 1437 mu m/h at phi(N2) = 30%. The transmittance of the N-doped 3C-SiC bulks decreased with phi(N2) and showed a declining trend at wavelengths longer than 1000 nm. Compared with the previously prepared < 111 >-oriented N-doped 3C-SiC, the high-speed preparation of < 110 >-oriented N-doped 3C-SiC bulks further broadens its application field.