Amorphous structures of buried oxide in SiC-on-insulator

A buried amorphous layer in high-dose oxygen ion-implanted silicon carbide (SiC) has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. Single crystalline (0001)-oriented 6H-SiC wafers were irradiated with 180 keV oxygen ions at 650°C to a fluence of 1.4 ×10¹⁸/cm². A fully amorphous SiO₂ layer was formed insido the irradiated crystal, while the surrounded 6H-SiC exhibited minimal damage. This SiO₂ layer included self-bonded carbon atoms and showed a layered structure due to compositional variations of silicon, carbon, and oxygen.