The preoxidation cleaning of silicon carbide surfaces (3C, 4H, 6H polytypes) by exposing them to ultraviolet radiation and oxygen is shown to produce a significant improvement in the electronic properties of SiC/SiO2interfaces. It is found that this treatment results in a removal of defect species, otherwise present at the SiC surface after thermal oxidation of SiC. Carbon clusters are proposed as the attacked species responsible for a substantial part of the SiC/SiO2interface states. ©1996 American Institute of Physics.