Relation between oxidation rate and oxidation-induced strain at SiO/Si(001) interfaces during thermal oxidation

Ogawa, Shuichi*; Tang, J.*; Yoshigoe, Akitaka ; Ishizuka, Shinji*; Teraoka, Yuden; Takakuwa, Yuji*

To verify experimentally the Si oxidation reaction model mediated by point defect (emitted Si atoms and its vacancies) generation due to the oxidation-induced strain, real-time photoelectron spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation was employed to evaluate simultaneously the amount of oxidation-induced strained Si atoms at the SiO/Si interface, oxidation states, and oxidation rate during oxidation on n-type Si(001) surfaces with O gas. It is found that the both of the oxidation rate and amount of strained Si atoms at the completion of first oxide layer growth decrease gradually with raising temperature from 573 K to 873 K, where the oxide grows in the Langmuir-type adsorption manner. It is found that the interface strain and oxidation rate have strong correlation.