CHARACTERIZATION OF SILICON SURFACES IN HF SOLUTION USING MICROWAVE REFLECTIVITY

Determination of the band bending in a semiconductor in contact with a solution is not straightforward since the potential is partitioned be tween the space charge layer in the semiconductor and the Helmholtz la yer on the solution side of the interface. In deep depletion, a change in the applied potential usually appears across the space charge laye r, however, under conditions of weak depletion or accumulation, the ap plied potential is partitioned between the two double layers and the b and bending is usually unknown. In this article we show how microwave reflectivity measurements can be used to determine the potential distr ibution at the semiconductor/solution interface. (C) 1998 American Ins titute of Physics.