Thermodynamical analysis of polytype stability during top-seeded solution growth of SiC using 2D nucleation theory

We investigated the dependence of SiC polytypes on process parameters, such as seed temperature and the nitrogen pressure in a furnace, during top-seeded solution growth. The analysis was based on classical thermodynamic nucleation theory in conjunction with numerical results obtained from a global model that includes convective, conductive, and radiative heat transfer. We investigated which SiC polytype (3C-SiC or 4H-SiC) was more stable in the nucleation stage by comparing the nucleation energies of the polytypes. The results showed that 3C-SiC formation was more stable than 4H-SiC formation under growth conditions with nitrogen doping. Furthermore, 3C-SiC was more stable than 4H-SiC at a high supersaturation of carbon in the solution.