Nonlinear optical investigation of silicon carbide surface properties

The surface properties of SiC films grown by reactive magnetron sputtering have been investigated by several surface-sensitive methods. The XRD analysis and SEM studies determined the grown layers to be single-crystalline, polycrystalline and amorphous depending on the Si substrate temperature range during the reaction. The nonlinear optical reflectivity investigations have provided an evaluation of the surface crystalline order and measurements of effective carrier lifetime at the interface. The rotational anisotropic behavior of SHG has been observed in crystalline SiC. The dependencies obtained are in good agreement with XRD data. The relationship between the nonequilibrium carrier relaxation time and the structure of sample is discussed. (orig.)