Comment on “Nitridation effects on Pb1 center structures at SiO2∕Si(100) interfaces” [J. Appl. Phys. 95, 4096 (2004)

Abstract

A recent X-band electron spin resonance study [Y. Miura and S. Fujieda, J. Appl. Phys. 95, 4096 (2004)] of thermal (100)Si∕SiO2 has concluded the generation of a second type of Pb1 defect as a result of postoxidation (PO) nitridation treatment in NO at 950°C. Here, in a different interpretation, it is outlined that the inference, burdened by limited signal-to-noise ratio and poor spectral resolution, may have resulted from the failure to discriminate the introduction of an isotropic weak additional signal at g∼2.0026, often observed after PO heating, readily giving way to misleading g anisotropy inference. There is no evidence for a second, N-associated variant of the familiar Pb1-type Si∕SiO2 interface defect.