A new low-temperature LPE technique has been developed. SiC layers were grown on a Si-face of 6H-SiC substrates from Al-Si solution reacting with propane gas at 1000degreesC. Morphology of the as-grown surface of the layers changed depending on whether the solution was saturated with Si or not. Based on the observation, two growth modes, corresponding to segregation dominance or surface diffusion dominance, were discussed. The use of off-axis substrates made the growth rate increase remarkably. The thickness reached about 10-mum after 8-h growth. PL measurements revealed that the polytype of the grown layers belongs to a hexagonal group. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.