Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 January 2016
RF-plasma MBE was used to epitaxially grow 4 – 100-nm-thick metallicβ-Nb2N thin films on hexagonal SiC substrates. When theN/Nb flux ratios are greater than one, the most critical parameter forhigh-quality β-Nb2N is the substrate temperature. The X-raydiffraction (XRD) of films grown between 775 °C and 850 °Cdemonstrates pure β-Nb2N phase formation which was alsoconfirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electronmicroscopy measurements. Using the (0002) and (21 $\bar 3$1) XRD peaks of a β-Nb2N film grown at 850°C reveals a 0.68% lattice mismatch to the 6H-SiC substrate. Thissuggests that β-Nb2N can be used for high-qualitymetal/semiconductor heterostructures that cannot be fabricated at present.