Oxidation of etched silicon in air at room temperature; Measurements with ultrasoft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ESCA) and neutron activation analysis

Surface chemistry dependence of native oxidation formation on silicon nanocrystals

“…Although they did not carry out a comprehensive study, Morita et al 45 found that a smooth hydrogen terminated ͑HF-treated͒ silicon surface had a monolayer coverage time of about 4 h, comparable to our unetched value. For a rough but unpassivated surface Mende et al 11 found a t m of 5 min and an initial growth rate of 0.84 nm/min. Interestingly, Mende et al 11 showed that the room temperature oxidation of unpassivated silicon is strongly affected by doping with N + doped silicon oxidizing much more rapidly than lightly doped material.…”

“…For a rough but unpassivated surface Mende et al 11 found a t m of 5 min and an initial growth rate of 0.84 nm/min. Interestingly, Mende et al 11 showed that the room temperature oxidation of unpassivated silicon is strongly affected by doping with N + doped silicon oxidizing much more rapidly than lightly doped material. Recalling that the Cabrera-Mott mechanism depends on the tunneling of electrons, this result is not too surprising.…”

“…[9][10][11][12] Most of the research has been focused on a greater understanding of Si, SiO 2 , and the Si/ SiO 2 interface for use in electronic device applications, such as the gate oxide in Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor ͑MOS͒ technology. Similar to bulk silicon, Si-NCs are highly susceptible to oxidation, even at room temperature.…”

In situ second-harmonic generation measurements of the stability of Si(111)–H and kinetics of oxide regrowth in ambient

“…[7][8][9] Estimates range from 1 hour to several weeks. 5,7,8,[10][11][12] The differences are in part related to the storage conditions ͑relative humidity, exposure to light͒, wetchemical treatments ͑metal contamination, water rinse, oxygen dissolved in chemicals͒ and properties of the sample ͓surface orientation, doping, . .…”

“…7 Previous studies had reported logarithmic oxide growth without an induction period. 11,12 Another study found that the oxide growth of HF treated Si͑111͒ stored in ambient is best described by a (t) 1/2 law with a 10 min ''incubation time.'' 13 Clearly, there is a controversy about the duration of the slow, induction phase of oxidation.…”