Oxygen adsorption and reaction on alpha-silicon

It is important to understand the initial stages of oxygen adsorption and r eaction on alpha-silicon because of its importance in the development of na nometre silicon-based microelectronic de,ices, This was achieved effectivel y using precise background corrections applied to Si 2p x-rag photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements based on effective energy-loss functions d erived from reflection election energy-loss spectroscopy analysis. It was a lso essential to determine O 1s XPS source functions based on the optical b ulk energy-loss function, Significant correlations between the chemical shi fts of the Si 2p and O Is XPS source functions with oxygen exposure using t his approach were observed. It enabled us to develop a model for oxygen ads orption and reaction at oxygen exposures of 0-1000 L at room temperature fr om detailed analysis of the changes in the fine spectral features revealed by this analytical approach, Features of the application of this procedure are illustrated in this paper and its application to developing a coherent understanding of the initial stages of oxygen adsorption and reaction on al pha-Si at room temperature is reported. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Son s, Ltd.