Low Voltage Electron Diffraction Study of the Oxidation and Reduction of Silicon

Abstract

Low voltage electron diffraction and pumping speed measurements have been used to study the reactions of oxygen with clean Si (111) and (100) surfaces in the temperature range between 600° and 1000°C and the oxygen pressure range between 7×10−9 and 1×10−4 mm Hg. The results support the contention that a wide region in which Si is atomically clean exists in this range. Measurements of steady states yield an activation energy of about 90 kcal/mol for the clean-up process. The results also suggest a practical method for producing pure coatings of SiO2 by a technique similar to, but with several advantages over, the familiar Si+SiO2 reaction process.