It was recalled that it had been proposed that a so-called harpoon-like Si-to-O2 electron transfer process, forming an O2--like precursor, was the crucial first step in (111) oxidation. Here, d-doping with B was used to reduce the electron population of Si surface adatom dangling bonds. It was found that the extent of oxidation and the number of O2--like species on the surface were greatly reduced by doping.

F.Bozso, P.Avouris: Physical Review B, 1991, 44[16], 9129-32