Chemical structures of native oxides formed during wet chemical treatments

The chemical structures of the native oxides formed during various wet chemical treatments were measured nondestructively by changing the effective electron escape depth. The structures of the native oxides can be characterized by the distribution of suboxide Si³⁺ in the native oxide films. If Si³⁺ is correlated with Si-H bonds, the formation rate of the native oxide during the wet chemical treatment and the interface roughness produced by photoexcited dry etching through the oxide can be explained.