PNNL

Abstract

A nano-sized amorphous layer embedded in a perfect crystal has been created to study the amorphous-to-crystalline (a-c) transition and subsequent phase transformation in 3C-SiC by means of classical molecular dynamics methods. The recovery of bond defects and the rearrangement of atoms at the interfaces are important processes driving the initial epitaxial recrystallization of the amorphous layer, which is eventually hindered by the nucleation and growth of a polycrystalline 2H-SiC phase. A spectrum of activation energies, ranging from about 0.8 eV to 2.0 eV, is associated with these processes. Following formation of the 2H phase, the kink sites and triple junctions formed at the interfaces between 2H- and 3C-SiC provide low-energy paths for 2H-SiC atoms to transform to 3C-SiC atoms, and complete recrystallization back to the 3C structure occurs at 2000 K with an activation energy on the order of 2.3 eV.