Valence band offset and interface stoichiometry at epitaxial Si3N4/Si(111) heterojunctions formed by plasma nitridation

Abstract

Thermal stability of the HfO 2 ∕ SiO 2 interface for sub-0.1 μ m complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor gate oxide stacks: A valence band and quantitative core-level study by soft x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy J. Appl. Phys. 96, 6362 (2004); 10.1063/1.1809769 Measurements and calculations of the valence band offsets of SiO x / ZnS (111) and SiO x / CdTe (111) heterojunctions J.

Nearly-free electronlike surface resonance of aβ−Si3N4(0001)/Si(111)−8×8<

“…The calculated surface density is 7.71 × 10 14 cm 2 . We obtained for bulk β-Si 3 N 4 a = 7.67Å and c/a = 0.3819, and a indirect energy gap of E g = 4.24 eV, in line with experimental and theoretical data [24,27,[40][41][42]. From the present data, we immediately note the tiny lattice mismatch (<1%) between the β-Si 3 N 4 lattice parameter and twice that of Si(111).…”

“…In this respect, a feature reported in the photoemission valence band taken at 134 eV photon energy was previously ascribed to the presence of a surface state [26]. However, that intense peak at a binding energy of −1.1 eV was never measured afterwards [7,[27][28][29]. Our data also cannot support that experimental evidence mainly on two grounds: on the one hand, angular resolved photoemission is needed to highlight the tiny feature (which is hidden if integrated in all the 075303-3 Fig.…”

“…In 2003, Kim et al [26] claimed that a feature appearing in the valence band taken at 134 eV, 1.1 eV below the Fermi level, would be related to the 8 × 8 reconstruction. However, this evidence has not been confirmed so far [7,27,28]. Indeed, at present a clear spectroscopic signature of the 8 × 8 reconstructed β-Si 3 N 4 (0001) layer has not yet been reported.…”

“…As for the surface electronic structure, the experimental studies are limited to integrated band structures recorded at photon energies larger than 100 eV [7,[26][27][28] except for the paper by Tokumitsu et al [29] in which angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) measurements at 32.5 and 45 eV photon energy, were reported: the authors identified the N 2p and Si 3p and 3s bands at binding energies larger than 4.5 eV, ascribing the unusual band structure to the umklapp process occurring at the interface between silicon and nitride. In 2003, Kim et al [26] claimed that a feature appearing in the valence band taken at 134 eV, 1.1 eV below the Fermi level, would be related to the 8 × 8 reconstruction.…”

Interaction of silicene withβ-Si3N4(0001)/Si(111) substrate; energetics and electronic properties

“…Therefore the quest of a good insulator substrate to be easily integrated into Si electronics is open. Si 3 N 4 is a good candidate to play the role of dielectric in Sibased electronic devices for several reasons, among which its mechanical strength and its large electronic band gap [20,21]. Moreover, β-Si 3 N 4 shows a tiny mismatch in lattice parameter with respect to the Si(111) plane (vide infra), and it has been demonstrated that a few layers thick β-Si 3 N 4 can be grown on top of Si(111) surfaces [22,23].…”