Systems and methods for growth of silicon carbide over a layer comprising graphene and/or hexagonal boron nitride and related articles

Abstract

Systems and methods for growth of silicon carbide over a layer comprising graphene and/or hexagonal boron nitride, and related articles, are generally described. In some embodiments, a SiC film is fabricated over a layer comprising graphene and/or hexagonal boron nitride, which in turn is disposed over a substrate. The layer and/or the substrate may be lattice-matched with the SiC film to reduce defect density in the SiC film. The fabricated SiC film may then be removed from the substrate via, for example, a stressor attached to the SiC film. In certain cases, the layer serves as a reusable platform for growing SiC films and also serves a release layer that allows fast, precise, and repeatable release at the layer surface.

1 . A method, comprising:
 forming a silicon carbide (SiC) film over a layer comprising graphene and/or hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) that is over a substrate;   wherein at least a portion of the formation of the SiC film occurs in the presence of a gaseous material comprising an inert gas.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the inert gas comprises Argon, Helium, and/or nitrogen (N 2 ). 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising separating the SiC film and the substrate. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the SiC film is crystalline. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the SiC film is single-crystalline. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising forming the layer over the substrate. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein forming the layer over the substrate comprises growing the layer over the substrate. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the substrate is a first substrate, and forming the layer over the first substrate comprises transferring the layer from a second substrate to the first substrate. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is one of a plurality of layers comprising graphene and/or hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), and forming the SiC film comprises forming the SiC film over the plurality of layers. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is the only layer between the SiC film and the substrate. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is a single-crystalline layer. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is a polycrystalline layer. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming the SiC film over the layer comprises using the substrate as a seed for the SiC film. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein, during the separating, the layer is used as a release layer. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming the SiC film over the layer comprises using the layer as a seed for the SiC film. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein forming the SiC film over the layer comprises using a combination of the substrate and the layer as a seed for the SiC film. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made, in whole or in part, of SiC. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the surface of the substrate over which the layer is positioned during growth is an SiC surface. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein separating the SiC film and the substrate comprises exfoliating the SiC film. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the SiC film is a first SiC film, and further comprising forming a second SiC film over the substrate after the first SiC film and the substrate have been separated. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is a semiconductor substrate. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the layer is directly on the substrate. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made, in whole or in part, of SiC having an offcut angle of between or equal to 0° and 10°. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made, in whole or in part, of 4° off-axis SiC. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made, in whole or in part, of 2° off-axis SiC. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made, in whole or in part, of on-axis SiC. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made, in whole or in part, of (0001) 4H—SiC and/or (0001) 6H—SiC. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising ramping, to a growth temperature, an environment comprising a gaseous material comprising an inert gas, wherein the environment is the environment of the layer comprising the graphene and/or hBN over the substrate, with a flow rate of the gaseous material of between or equal to 10 standard liters per minute (slm) and 80 slm. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one portion of the formation of the silicon carbide film occurs at a growth temperature, of an environment of the layer comprising the graphene and/or hBN over the substrate, of between or equal to 1350° C. and 1800° C. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the gaseous material comprising the inert gas is present during the at least one portion of the formation of the silicon carbide film for between or equal to 3 minutes and 90 minutes. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the substrate is made, in whole or in part, of a III-Nitride.