Influence of orientation of a silicon substrate with a buffer silicon carbide layer on dielectric and polar properties of aluminum nitride films

Dielectric and polar properties of aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films epitaxially grown on differently oriented silicon substrates with the $p$-type conduction and a buffer silicon carbide (SiC) layer and on vicinal planes are investigated. The results of studies of the polar properties by two independent methods–the dynamic pyroelectric effect and the piezoresponse force microscopy–show that the SiC buffer layer application considerably improves polar properties of the aluminum nitride thin layer.