Effect of silicon wafer in situ cleaning on the chemical structure of ultrathin silicon oxide film

The effect of silicon wafer in situ cleaning on the chemical structures of thermally grown silicon oxide films was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. After the silicon wafer in situ cleaning was performed by the decomposition of native oxides in high vacuum, the nearly 1.6-nm-thick thermal oxides were formed in dry oxygen at 800°C. If the heating time for the decomposition of native oxides was too short, intermediate states transformed from native oxides were found to remain on the surface of the oxide films. On the other hand, if the heating time was too long, the amount of intermediate states at the interface was found to increase as a result of the increase in interface roughness. The optimum condition for in situ cleaning is heating at 900°C for 30 minutes in high vacuum.