Investigation of native-oxide growth on HF-treated Si(111) surfaces by measuring the surface-state distribution

The evaluation of the surface state distribution of differently HF-treated Si(111) surfaces during the native-oxide growth in air is investigated by the large-signal field-modulated photovoltage technique. The surface state distribution consisting of intrinsic and extrinsic Si dangling bond defects is directly related to the state of oxidation of the Si surface. It is shown that the kind of HF treatment strongly influences the concentration of extrinsic defects with a lower state of oxidation. Special HF preparations for H termination of the Si(111) surface result in a nearly intrinsic surface state distribution. During the oxidation process three typical phases can be distinguished each characterized by specific defect structures. It was found that native-oxide growth is highly sensitive to the concentration of extrinsic defects directly after HF treatment.