Surface evolution of Pt/MoO3/4H-SiC(0001) investigated by in situ near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Abstract

Achieving effective Ohmic contact between SiC and metal electrodes remains a challenge due to the high Schottky barrier resulting from the large mismatch between the deep-lying valence band of SiC and Fermi level of metals. One promising approach to address this issue is to introduce a high-work-function interfacial layer between the metal and semiconductor. However, the interaction mechanisms of the inserted high-work-function interfacial layer between metal electrodes and the SiC substrate have been rarely studied systematically. In this work, layers of high-work-function molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) and platinum (Pt) were successively grown on the 4H-SiC(0001) surface via conventional physical vapour deposition (PVD). We investigated the chemical and electronic structure evolutions upon Pt deposition on MoO3/4H-SiC(0001) using in situ near-ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (NAP-XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). Subsequently, the evolutions of Pt/MoO3/4H-SiC(0001) system during annealing under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) or various gas phase environments (H2 and O2) were studied via in situ NAP-XPS and UPS. Our results reveal that Pt showed its thermal stability during the annealing process, while Mo presented its versatile chemical characteristics. These results depict a detailed chemical feature of the Pt/MoO3/4H-SiC(0001) system and help gain a better understanding about the impact of different environments on Pt/MoO3 interface.