Hydrogen desorption on various H-terminated Si(100) surfaces due to electron beam irradiation: Experiments and modeling

Abstract

Hydrogen desorption from (2×1) and (3×1) H-terminated Si(100) surfaces due to irradiation by electron beams with 2–5 keV beam energies has been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) has been employed to monitor Si, O, and C signals periodically with continuous irradiation of an electron beam on H-terminated Si(100) surfaces. An incubation phenomenon is observed in the time evolution profiles of the Si, O, and C AES signals for all H-terminated Si(100) surfaces. The incubation period is believed to be associated with the time required for desorption of hydrogen from the H-terminated Si surface as a result of electron beam irradiation. Among (2×1) and (3×1) H-terminated Si(100) surfaces, the (3×1) surface is found to have greater hydrogen coverage than (2×1) surface. The hydrogen desorption cross section is found to range from 4×10−19 to 8×10−18 cm2 and decrease with increasing beam energy in the 2–5 keV range.