Stress and stress monitoring in SiC-Si heterostructures

Infrared ellipsometry is a valuable tool to investigate the average stress and the stress distribution in thin silicon carbide layers grown on silicon as well as to monitor the changes in the stress state during device processing. It was obtained that low temperature carbonization in combination with low temperature epitaxial growth led to a compressive stress component in the SiC-Si interface region, whereas the aver'"' age stress state is tensile. Ge incorporation in the interface lowered the tensile residual stress component. Metallization of SiC increases the tensile stress in the SiC on Si.