ROOM-TEMPERATURE TRANSFORMATIONS IN SIO2 LAYERS INDUCED BY CHEMICAL-COMPOUNDS .2.

As shown previously, treatment of thin SiO 2 layers on silicon slices with diethyl ether vapour results in a diminished hydrigen content and a rearranged structure. Electrical measurements have revealed an increase in the breakdown strength and measurements of infrared absorption have shown a displacement and a decrease of the characteristic v(SiO) = 1100 cm -1 and v(OH) = 3000-4000 cm -1 attenuated total reflection peaks. This further substantiates the view that diethyl ether induces compositional and structural changes in SiO 2 . We discuss the possible ways in which hydroxyl radicals are removed and we emphasized the roles of unshared electron pairs and of hydrogen bonding. Experiments with amines support our views. © 1979.