  Silicon carbide (SiC) is an important semiconductor material for fabricating
power electronic devices that exhibit higher switch frequency, lower energy
loss and substantial reduction both in size and weight in comparison with its
Si-based counterparts1-4. Currently, most devices, such as
metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors, which are core devices used
in electric vehicles, photovoltaic industry and other applications, are
fabricated on a hexagonal polytype 4H-SiC because of its commercial
availability5. Cubic silicon carbide (3C-SiC), the only cubic polytype, has a
moderate band gap of 2.36 eV at room-temperature, but a superior mobility and
thermal conduction than 4H-SiC4,6-11. Moreover, the much lower concentration of
interfacial traps between insulating oxide gate and 3C-SiC helps fabricate
reliable and long-life devices7-10,12-14. The growth of 3C-SiC crystals,
however, has remained a challenge up to now despite of decades-long efforts by
researchers because of its easy transformation into other polytypes during
growth15-19, limiting the 3C-SiC based devices. Here, we report that 3C-SiC can
be made thermodynamically favored from nucleation to growth on a 4H-SiC
substrate by top-seeded solution growth technique(TSSG), beyond what's expected
by classic nucleation theory. This enables the steady growth of quality and
large sized 3C-SiC crystals (2~4-inch in diameter and 4.0~10.0 mm in thickness)
sustainable. Our findings broaden the mechanism of hetero-seed crystal growth
and provide a feasible route to mass production of 3C-SiC crystals,offering new
opportunities to develop power electronic devices potentially with better
performances than those based on 4H-SiC.
