Atomically Flat Silicon Oxide Monolayer Generated by Remote Plasma

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• 作者：Dickson Thian ; Yonas T. Yemane ; Manca Logar ; Shicheng Xu ; Peter Schindler ; Martin M. Winterkorn ; J Provine ; Fritz B. Prinz
• 刊名：Journal of Physical Chemistry C
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：April 21, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：120
• 期：15
• 页码：8148-8156
• 全文大小：572K
• 年卷期：0
• ISSN：1932-7455

文摘

We demonstrate stable, atomically smooth monolayer oxidation of Si(111) using a remote plasma. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) confirms the atomically flat nature of the oxidized surface, while cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) proves the monolayer to bilayer oxide thickness. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) indicate oxygen is incorporated onto the silicon surface in the form of Si–O–Si and Si–OH bonds. The incorporation of Si–OH bonds is inferred by using TiClb>4b>, a highly specific ALD precursor, for TiOb>2b> ALD. This plasma technique provides precise control of the surface chemistry and yields abrupt yet stable SiO/Si interfaces. It enables production of atomically flat, ALD-active silicon surfaces that could serve as a well-defined platform for investigation of various surface chemistries via STM. Using this substrate, we present the first ever STM observations of ALD TiOb>2b> on silicon oxide.