AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Electronic Materials and Processing Tuesday Sessions
       Session EM1-TuM

Paper EM1-TuM8
XPS Study of Se-passivated Si(100)

Tuesday, November 1, 2005, 10:40 am, Room 310

Session: Defects, Interfaces, and Surface Passivation in Electronic Materials
Presenter: F.S. Aguirre-Tostado, University of Texas at Dallas
Authors: F.S. Aguirre-Tostado, University of Texas at Dallas
R.M. Wallace, University of Texas at Dallas
J. Zhu, University of Texas at Arlington
G. Larrieu, University of Texas at Arlington
E. Maldonado, University of Texas at Arlington
W.P. Kirk, University of Texas at Arlington
M. Tao, University of Texas at Arlington
Correspondent: Click to Email
The presence of strained and dangling bonds on the atomically clean Si(100) surface leads to a metastable surface structure not suitable for the growth of high-k oxides. In the present work, we have examined the passivation of the Si(100) surface with one monolayer of selenium upon thermal annealing. Ex-situ analysis by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy reveals that while Se-oxide formation is below the limit of detection, SiO@sub 2@ formation is observed. Assuming a 2D Se layer growth, we speculate that the formation of SiO@sub 2@ takes place at the atomic steps on the surface and at defect sites in the Se layer. It is also possible that there exists a cooperative inter-diffusion of Se and topmost Si atoms, leading to SiO@sub 2@ formation on top of the Se layer. From in-situ thermal annealing studies up to 425 °C, we find that adventitious C concentrations are below detectible limits above 100 °C while Se-Si and SiO@sub 2@ species surface concentrations remain unchanged. From photoelectron attenuation measurements, the SiO@sub 2@ thickness is around 8 Å. The mechanism of formation of the Se layer and SiO@sub 2@ will be discussed. This work is supported in part by the Texas Advanced Technology Program and SEMATECH.