Abstract
Ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy is used to unveil the water uptake of a thin GeO2 film on Ge(100) as well as its effect on the electronic properties of the oxide film. We also compare these results with those for a SiO2/Si(100) sample. We detect significant positive charging of the GeO2 film once it is exposed to water vapor even at a low relative humidity (RH) of approximately 10-4%. We also show that the amount of adsorbed water is much larger on GeO2 than on SiO2 at RH above 10-4%, probably due to the permeability of GeO2. Two possible mechanisms are proposed to explain such water-induced positive charging of the GeO2 film.
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