Embodiments of the invention relate generally to semiconductors and semiconductor fabrication techniques, and more particularly, to devices, integrated circuits, substrates, wafers and methods to form barrier structures to facilitate formation of silicon carbide epitaxy on a substrate, such as a silicon-based substrate, for fabricating various silicon carbide-based semiconductor devices, including silicon carbide-based memory elements and cells. In some embodiments, a semiconductor wafer includes a silicon substrate, a barrier-seed layer disposed over the silicon substrate, and a silicon carbide layer formed over the barrier-seed layer. The semiconductor wafer can be used to form a variety of SiC-based semiconductor devices. In one embodiment, a silicon carbide-based memory element is formed to include barrier-seed layer, multiple silicon carbide layers formed over the barrier-seed layer, and a dielectric layer formed over the multiple silicon carbide layers.