Factors Affecting the Growth of SiC Nano-whiskers

Silicon carbide (SiC) is a IV-IV compound semiconductor material with a wide band gap. Semiconductor electronic devices and circuits made from SiC are presently developed for high-temperature, high-power, and high-radiation conditions, in which conventional semiconductors cannot be adequately performed. In this paper, SiH4 and C2H2 were used to synthesize SiC nano-whiskers. Metal Ni was the catalyst. SiC nano-whiskers were grown by vapor-liquid-solid mechanism. The effects of the H2 flow rate, growth temperature, catalyst thickness and growth pressure to grow SiC nano-whiskers were studied. 3C-SiC thin film and nano-tips can be synthesized by controlling the growth conditions.