Silicon Carbide: From Fundamentals to Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Silicon carbide is the only binary compound of silicon and carbon that exists in the solid phase under normal conditions. As early as 1824, Jöns Jakob Berzelius first suggested that a chemical bond might exist between silicon and carbon. Silicon carbide is rare in the уarth environment, but it is widespread in the universe and often found in meteorites. The first SiC crystals of extraterrestrial origin were discovered by Henry Moissan in 1905 during the examination of meteorites in the Devil's Canyon in the Arizona desert. In his honor, the mineral was called moissanite. Producing artificial silicon carbide was first patented in 1891 by Edward Acheson. Ironically, the active use of silicon carbide in microelectronics began only in recent years, despite the fact that silicon carbide is one of the first materials of solid-state electronics. As early as 1907, H. Round observed luminescence when an electric current passed through a SiC crystal. In 1923–1940, Oleg Losev investigated the electroluminescence of silicon carbide in more detail. Losev also found a relation between current rectification and electroluminescence in SiC. Thus, the two most important phenomena for semiconductor electronics—electroluminescence and the rectifying properties of p–n structures—were first discovered in SiC crystals. SiC crystals have a large bandgap in comparison with Si and GaAs, which allows a significant expansion of the operating temperatures of electronic devices (theoretically up to ~1000°C). Due to the larger (by order of magnitude) breakdown field of SiC than that of silicon, the doping level of a SiC diode can be two orders of magnitude higher than that of a silicon diode at the same breakdown voltage. Silicon carbide is a radiation-resistant material. The high thermal conductivity of SiC (at the level of thermal conductivity of copper) greatly simplifies the problem of heat removal from devices. This property, combined with high permissible operating temperatures and high saturation rates of carriers (high saturation currents of field-effect transistors), makes SiC devices very promising for use in power electronics. In addition, the high Debye temperature, which determines the temperature at which phonons arise, indicates the high thermal stability of SiC. Thus, silicon carbide surpasses classical semiconductor materials, Si and GaAs, in almost all important criteria.

The topic of this issue covers a wide range of questions devoted to the study of fundamental and applied aspects of the nucleation and growth mechanisms of crystals and thin films of silicon carbide, to the formation of growth defects, and transport mechanisms of charge carriers. Particular attention will be paid to the growth of silicon carbide layers on silicon, since the combination of these two materials allows integration of silicon carbide, as well as films of wide-bandgap materials (such as GaN, AlN, Ga₂O₃) grown on its surface, with silicon—the main material of modern micro- and optoelectronics.

Particular attention will also be paid to the growth processes and properties of crystals, thin films, nanocrystals, and nanostructures of wide-bandgap semiconductors (such as GaN, AlN, and Ga₂O₃) grown on SiC. These materials are especially relevant due to the wide range of applications of semiconductor structures based on them that are relevant in the world industry.

It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript for this Special Issue. Full papers, communications, and reviews are all welcome.

Prof. Sergey Kukushkin
Guest Editor

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• silicon carbide
• crystal growth
• silicon carbide on silicon
• thin film growth
• phase transition
• wide bandgap semiconductors
• nanostructures
• growth of nanowires