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Gallium oxide (Ga2O3) as an "ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor" material has garnered sustained attention. Ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors fall under the category of "fourth-generation semiconductors," and in comparison to third-generation semiconductors such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), gallium oxide boasts a bandgap width of 4.9eV, surpassing silicon carbide's 3.2eV and gallium nitride's 3.39eV. A wider bandgap implies that electrons require more energy to transition from the valence band to the conduction band, endowing gallium oxide with characteristics like high voltage resistance, high-temperature tolerance, high power capability, and radiation resistance.

Semiconductor materials can be divided into three generations according to the time sequence. The first generation of germanium, silicon and other common monomaterials, which is characterised by convenient switching, generally used in integrated circuits. The second generation of gallium arsenide, indium phosphide and other compound semiconductors, mainly used for light-emitting and communication materials.

In the semiconductor industry, epitaxial layers play a crucial role by forming specific single-crystal thin films atop a wafer substrate, collectively known as epitaxial wafers. Particularly, silicon carbide (SiC) epitaxial layers grown on conductive SiC substrates produce homogenous SiC epitaxial wafers, which are instrumental in the fabrication of power devices such as Schottky diodes, MOSFETs, and IGBTs, with 4H-SiC substrates being the most widely utilized.

The third-generation wide bandgap semiconductor materials, such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) and Silicon Carbide (SiC), are renowned for their exceptional optoelectronic conversion and microwave signal transmission capabilities. These materials meet the demanding requirements of high-frequency, high-temperature, high-power, and radiation-resistant electronic devices. Therefore, they have vast application prospects in new-generation mobile communications, new energy vehicles, smart grids, and LED technologies. The comprehensive development of the third-generation semiconductor industry urgently requires breakthroughs in key core technologies, continual advancement in device design and innovation, and a resolution to import dependencies.

The history of silicon carbide (SiC) dates back to 1891, when Edward Goodrich Acheson accidentally discovered it while attempting to synthesize artificial diamonds. Acheson heated a mixture of clay (aluminosilicate) and powdered coke (carbon) in an electric furnace. Instead of the expected diamonds, he obtained a bright green crystal adhering to the carbon. This crystal had a hardness second only to diamond, and was thus named carborundum. In 1904, French-Jewish chemist Henri Moissan discovered rare natural silicon carbide minerals while studying meteorite samples from the Diablo Canyon in Arizona, USA. He named these minerals moissanite, and his discovery earned him the 1906 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is highly favored in the semiconductor industry for its excellent physical and chemical properties. However, the high hardness and brittleness of SiC pose considerable challenges to its processing.