X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of the oxidation of Se passivated Si(001)

The chemical and electronic passivation of semiconductors is an important issue for the fabrication of electronic devices. In this work we use angle resolved x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to study the chemical passivation of silicon (001) surface with selenium at a surface coverage close to 1 monolayer. The interaction of Se with silicon breaks the Si-Si dimers leading to a change in the surface reconstruction from a (2x1) to (1x1) symmetry. The silicon surface covered with a selenium monolayer was exposed to dry oxygen at 300 degrees C for 80 min. We find that the presence of the Se monolayer does not appreciably reduce the formation of a SiO2 layer. (C) 2007 American Institute of Physics.