Transmission Electron Microscopy and Luminescence Studies of Quantum Well Structures Resulting from Stacking Fault Formation in 4H-SiC Layers

Transmission electron microscopy and photoluminescence studies of quantum well structures related to stacking faults formation in 4H-SiC homoepitaxial layers are reported. The investigated 4H-SiC layers were deposited on 8° misoriented Si-terminated (0001) surface of high quality 4H-SiC substrate. It is found that the planar defects created by direct continuation from the SiC substrates are cubic 3C-SiC stacking faults. These defects are optically active, giving rise to characteristic luminescence band in the spectral range around 2.9 eV, which consist of several emission lines. The observed energy and intensity pattern of this emission is discussed of in terms of single, double and multiple quantum wells formed from neighboring 3C-SiC SF layers embedded in 4H-SiC material.