Structural and Optical Properties of Nano-Phases in Ar+ Sputtered SiC Surfaces

State-of-the-art experimental facility 200 kV Ion Accelerator, with energy range of 30–200 kV has been running successfully at Ion Beam Centre, KUK. This facility offers single charge state, switching magnet with five exit ports and large area irradiation/implantation using hollow cathode ion source. Silicon Carbide (SiC) is a fascinating wide band gap semiconductor with superior properties, such as excellent thermal conductivity, high breakdown field strength, and excellent physical and chemical stability. In this regard, present work investigates the structural and optical behavior of as-deposited and argon sputtered SiC thin films at varying fluences keeping ion incidence at 50°. Raman spectroscopy and UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy have been employed for assessing the structural transformations under present case. An increase in the optical absorption and a shifting of absorption edge towards longer wavelengths were observed. The observed structural behavior is attributed to the different degree of sputtering yield at different argon ion fluences and non-stochiometric sputtering of silicon and carbon.