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HomeSolid State PhenomenaSolid State Phenomena Vol. 346Atomic Level Chemical and Structural Properties of...

Atomic Level Chemical and Structural Properties of Silicon Surface and Initial Stages of Oxidation

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Abstract:

This work aims to summarize previous results reported in literature on atomic level properties of the wet chemically treated hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces and of the Si oxidation, in comparison to a model system of ultraclean Si surfaces prepared in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. A literature review shows that a proper wet chemical treatment of Si(111) provides an atomically smooth, high-quality surface, similar to the model template obtained in UHV conditions after high temperature heating. However, it seems that Si(111) is an exception among semiconductor surfaces concerning the effects of wet chemistry. Although the insulator films grown by the atomic layer deposition (ALD) have replaced the thermal oxide of SiO₂ in many applications, still an intermediate SiO₂ layer is formed and often grown intentionally beneath the ALD film to improve the device performance. However, a detailed atomic structure of the SiO₂/Si interface is still debatable, which might be due to differences in atomic level smoothness of the used Si(100) starting surfaces.

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Solid State Phenomena (Volume 346)

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49-56

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https://doi.org/10.4028/p-9ENgNN

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August 2023

Authors:

Pekka Laukkanen*

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Atomic Scale Smoothness, Hydrogen Termination, Si Oxidation, Wet Chemical Treatment

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