All Physics Faculty Publications
Preparation of atomically clean and flat Si(100) surfaces by low-energy ion sputtering and low-temperature annealing
Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Applied Surface Science
Issue
220
Publication Date
2003
Abstract
Si(1 0 0) surfaces were prepared by wet-chemical etching followed by 0.3–1.5 keV Ar ion sputtering, either at elevated or room temperature (RT). After a brief anneal under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, the resulting surfaces were examined by scanning tunneling microscopy. We find that wet-chemical etching alone cannot produce a clean and flat Si(1 0 0) surface. However, subsequent 300 eV Ar ion sputtering at room temperature followed by a 700 °C anneal yields atomically clean and flat Si(1 0 0) surfaces suitable for nanoscale device fabrication.
Recommended Citation
J. C. Kim, J.-Y. Ji, J. S. Kline, J. R. Tucker, and T.-C. Shen, “Preparation of atomically clean and flat Si(100) surfaces by low-energy ion sputtering and low-temperature annealing,” Appl. Surf. Sci. 220, 293 (2003).
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-4332(03)00826-2