Sintered tantalum carbide coatings on graphite substrates: Highly reliable protective coatings for bulk and epitaxial growth

Journal Article · Mon Feb 23 00:00:00 EST 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4913413· OSTI ID:22412698

Nakamura, Daisuke; Suzumura, Akitoshi; Shigetoh, Keisuke ^[1]

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1. Toyota Central R and D Labs., Inc., Nagakute, Aichi 480-1192 (Japan)

Highly reliable low-cost protective coatings have been sought after for use in crucibles and susceptors for bulk and epitaxial film growth processes involving wide bandgap materials. Here, we propose a production technique for ultra-thick (50–200 μmt) tantalum carbide (TaC) protective coatings on graphite substrates, which consists of TaC slurry application and subsequent sintering processes, i.e., a wet ceramic process. Structural analysis of the sintered TaC layers indicated that they have a dense granular structure containing coarse grain with sizes of 10–50 μm. Furthermore, no cracks or pinholes penetrated through the layers, i.e., the TaC layers are highly reliable protective coatings. The analysis also indicated that no plastic deformation occurred during the production process, and the non-textured crystalline orientation of the TaC layers is the origin of their high reliability and durability. The TaC-coated graphite crucibles were tested in an aluminum nitride (AlN) sublimation growth process, which involves extremely corrosive conditions, and demonstrated their practical reliability and durability in the AlN growth process as a TaC-coated graphite. The application of the TaC-coated graphite materials to crucibles and susceptors for use in bulk AlN single crystal growth, bulk silicon carbide (SiC) single crystal growth, chemical vapor deposition of epitaxial SiC films, and metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy of group-III nitrides will lead to further improvements in crystal quality and reduced processing costs.

• OSTI ID: 22412698
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 106, Issue 8; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
ALUMINIUM
ALUMINIUM NITRIDES
CERAMICS
CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION
FILMS
GRAPHITE
HARDNESS
LAYERS
MONOCRYSTALS
ORGANOMETALLIC COMPOUNDS
PLASTICITY
PROTECTIVE COATINGS
SILICON CARBIDES
SINTERING
SUBSTRATES
TANTALUM CARBIDES
VAPOR PHASE EPITAXY
WEAR RESISTANCE