Observations of metastable oxidized state on Si(110)-162 surface using SR-PES and STM

Yamamoto, Yoshihisa*; Togashi, Hideaki*; Goto, Seiichi*; Takahashi, Yuya*; Nakano, Takuya*; Kato, Atsushi*; Hasegawa, Satoshi*; Konno, Atsushi*; Suemitsu, Maki*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka ; Teraoka, Yuden; Asaoka, Hidehito  

We have investigated that initial oxidation processes of Si(110) surfaces at room temperature and thermal stability of the oxide layer via synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy (SR-PES) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). We found in the SR-PES experiments that metastable oxygen-condensed local structures were formed in the early stage of Si(110) oxidation at room temperature. After thermal annealing of 15 min at 573 K, highly-oxidized components of Si2p spectrum, Si and Si, were enhanced whereas Si was decreased. This is due to structural relaxation of the strained metastable oxidation structures on the surface and following change to stable highly-oxidized structures. Furthermore, the structural change from the metastable structure in the surface oxidized at room temperature to the stable cluster structure was directly observed via STM.