Stepwise growth of ultrathin SiOx films on Si(100) surfaces through sequential adsorption/oxidation cycles of alkylsiloxane monolayers

A novel procedure for a controlled monolayer growth of silicon oxide films on silicon substrates is presented. It is based on a binary A-B reaction sequence involving the formation of an alkylsiloxane monolayer through self-assembling from solution (step A) followed by UV/ozone oxidation of the hydrocarbon groups (step B). Repeated application of this A-B cycle results in a layer-by-layer growth of the oxide film with a strictly linear thickness increase of 2.7 Angstrom per cycle, as evidenced by ellipsometry and infrared reflection spectroscopy.