Abstract
Thermal oxidation of Si(113) in a monolayer regime was investigated using high-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Dynamic processes during thermal oxidation were examined in three oxidation modes – oxidation, etching, and transition modes – in the third of which both oxidation and etching occur. A precise temperature–pressure growth mode diagram was obtained via careful measurements for Si(113), and the results were compared with those for Si(111) in the present work and Si(001) in the literature. Initial oxidation processes were identified based on high-resolution STM images.
Highlights
High-index silicon surfaces have drawn considerable interest for their usefulness in three-dimensional metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) [1]
Using a state-of-the-art wet oxidation procedure, we reduced the interface trap density (Dit) at the SiO2/Si interface on the Si(113) substrate dramatically, so that it was close to that of Si(001) [1]
We investigated three oxidation growth modes – oxidation, etching, and transition modes – in the third of which both oxidation and etching occur
Summary
High-index silicon surfaces have drawn considerable interest for their usefulness in three-dimensional metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) [1]. Formation processes of ultrathin SiO2 at the interface are considered to be quite important in determining its dielectric properties. To study procedures to fabricate gate dielectrics, it will be necessary to understand thermal oxidation on silicon surfaces as well as metal-induced oxidation and silicidation [2]. Dynamic processes in oxidation have been studied scarcely so far, especially for high-index silicon surfaces. The observation of oxidation at the atomic level in both real time and real space has been recognized as an important experimental challenge toward elucidating the dynamic processes in oxidation. The formation processes of iron oxide nanoparticles have been studied in detail using stateof-the-art X-ray scattering methods [4].
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