• Angermann, H.; Balamou, P.; Lu, W.; Korte, L.; Leendertz, C.; Stegemann, B.: Oxidation of Si surfaces: Effect of ambient air and water treatments on surface charge and interface state density. Solid State Phenomena 255 (2016), p. 331-337

10.4028/www.scientific.net/SSP.255.331

Abstract:
Surface sensitive methods, UV-VIS spectral ellipsometry (SE), surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were combined to investigate in detail the Si substrate oxidation and resulting interface electronic properties. Various wet-chemical oxidation methods utilizing hot deionized water with different HCl or Ozone content were optimized in order to prepare ultra-thin oxide layers with reproducible oxide thicknesses (<dox > 0.3 to 3.5 nm), low values of interface state densities and well-defined interface charges. The simulation tool ELifAnT (Effective Lifetime Analysis Tool) was utilised to analyse experimental excess minority charge carrier density (n) dependent charge carrier lifetimes eff (n), and to establish correlations between preparation induced interface charges Qit and defect densities Dit on both p-and n-type substrates.