Formation of Different Carbon Phases on SiC

Abstract

Carbon is able to crystallise in different allotrope modifications. They mainly differ in the dominating bindings formed in dependence on the hybridization sp, sp2 and sp3 of the carbon atoms. The present work demonstrates the formation of two different forms of car¬bon allotropes by heating both polar surfaces of on axis 6H-SiC(0001) and 6H-SiC(000 ) crystals to temperatures above 1600°C. In consequence of the structural evolution graphite-like (sp2-hybridised) and carbine-like (sp-hybridised) allotropic carbon modifications were obtained.