Spontaneous formation and growth of a new polytype on SiC(0001)

Using in situ electron microscopy, we have measured the structure of SiC(0001)-4H during annealing in vacuum. Above 1000 degrees C, an additional SiC bilayer forms on the surface that changes the polytype from hexagonal (4H) to cubic (3C). The interaction with surface steps prevents the cubic layer from growing thicker: the new phase does not wet the steps of the underlying 4H substrate. Instead, the cubic layer expands laterally, accelerating step bunching in the surrounding hexagonal regions. During SiC homoepitaxy, this lack of step edge wetting leads to the growth of 3C twins separated by deep grooves.