CONFORMAL OXIDES ON SI SURFACES

The characteristics of the Si-vacuum interface were compared with the characteristics of the oxide-air interface formed following room tempe rature oxidation for a variety of samples. Scanning tunneling microsco py was used to measure the surface structure following vacuum preparat ion, and atomic force microscopy was used to measure the oxide surface on the same samples following exposure to air. Samples investigated i ncluded nominally flat Si(111) with equilibrated and quenched surface configurations, Si(111) miscut by 1.25 degrees toward the [(2) over ba r 11] and equilibrated to yield the faceted structure, and nominally f lat Si(001) wafers. In all cases, the step morphology of the clean sur faces was duplicated on the surface of the oxide. (C) 1997 American In stitute of Physics.