  The electronic, structural and vibrational properties of small carbon
interstitial and antisite clusters are investigated by ab initio methods in 3C
and 4H-SiC. The defects possess sizable dissociation energies and may be formed
via condensation of carbon interstitials, e.g. generated in the course of ion
implantation. All considered defect complexes possess localized vibrational
modes (LVM's) well above the SiC bulk phonon spectrum. In particular, the
compact antisite clusters exhibit high-frequency LVM's up to 250meV. The
isotope shifts resulting from a_{13}C enrichment are analyzed. In the light of
these results, the photoluminescence centers D_{II} and P-U are discussed. The
dicarbon antisite is identified as a plausible key ingredient of the
D_{II}-center, whereas the carbon split-interstitial is a likely origin of the
P-T centers. The comparison of the calculated and observed high-frequency modes
suggests that the U-center is also a carbon-antisite based defect.

Materials Science