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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide (nc-SiC) films embedded in an amorphous SiC matrix was fabricated by the hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) technique using methane and silane as reactance gases. The presence of nanocrystalline grains was confirmed by the high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM). x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements showed that the atomic percentages of Si and C are nearly 50%. X-ray diffraction spectrum of the sample revealed a diffraction peak of 3C-SiC (111) at 2ϕ=35.6°. Infrared absorption of the film had a strong peak at 800 cm−1 which is related to the transverse optical phonons of Si-C bonds in 3C-SiC. Raman spectrum of the sample showed that there are two peaks at 790 cm−l and 970 cm−1 which correspond to longitudinal and transverse optical phonons of SiC respectively. Room temperature photoluminescence (PL) study of these nc-SiC samples revealed a visible peak at 2.2 eV, which has not been observed so far for 3C-SiC.