Thermal oxidation kinetics of an Si1−xCx alloy layer (x ≃ 0.1) on Si(0 0 1) surfaces monitored in real time by RHEED combined with AES

✍ Scribed by Shuichi Ogawa; Tomofumi Kawamura; Yuji Takakuwa

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 681 KB
• Volume: 135
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0921-5107
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mseb.2006.08.007

✦ Synopsis

To clarify the oxide growth mechanism on strained Si surfaces, the thermal oxidation reaction kinetics of an Si 1-x C x (x 0.1) alloy layer with a c(4 × 4) structure grown on Si(0 0 1) surfaces by carbonization with ethylene 636 • C was investigated using RHEED combined with AES. Upon staring the oxidation of the Si 1-x C x (x 0.1) alloy layer under the conditions of Langmuir-type adsorption at 383 • C, oxide growth rate is ∼70% higher than that on a clean Si(0 0 1)2 × 1 surface and then decreases considerably corresponding to the decrease of the c(4 × 4) structure. When the Si 1-x C x (x 0.1) alloy layer is oxidized under the conditions of two-dimensional oxide island growth with SiO desorption at 690 • C, the initial sticking probability of O 2 molecules measured by the etching rate of a Si surface is ∼26% smaller than that on the clean Si(0 0 1)2 × 1 surface independent of oxide coverage. The temperature dependent changes of initial sticking probability and surface structure are discussed in terms of the intrinsic and thermal strain of the Si 1-x C x (x 0.1) alloy layer.