Solid solutions of AlN and SiC grown by plasma-assisted, gas-source molecular beam epitaxy

Solid solutions of aluminum nitride (AlN) and silicon carbide (SiC), the only intermediate phases in their respective binary systems, have been grown at 1050 °C on α(6H)-SiC(0001) substrates cut 3–4° off-axis toward [11$\overline 1$0] using plasma-assisted, gas-source molecular beam epitaxy. A film having the approximate composition of (AlN)_0.3(SiC)_0.7, as determined by Auger spectrometry, was selected for additional study and is the focus of this note. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed that the film was monocrystalline with the wurtzite (2H) crystal structure.