Synchrotron radiation studies of the SiO2/SiC(0001) interface

• Two questions thought to have a significant effect on SiC-MOS device characteristics are treated. The existence of carbon clusters or carbon containing by-products and the existence of sub-oxides at the SiO2/SiC interface. Results of photoemission studies using synchrotron radiation of the interface of the Si-terminated surface of n-type SiC(0001) crystals are presented. The results show that no carbon clusters or carbon containing by-product can. be detected at the interface of in situ or ex situ grown samples with an oxide layer thickness larger than similar to10 Angstrom. The presence of sub-oxides at the SiO2/SiC interface was predicted in a theoretical calculation and has been revealed in Si 2p core level data by several groups. These results were not unanimous; significant differences in the number of sub-oxide and shifts were reported. A study also including the Si 1s core level and Si KLL Auger transitions was therefore made. These data show the presence of only one sub-oxide at the interface, assigned to Si1+ oxidation states. The SiO2 chemical shift is shown to exhibit a dependence on oxide thickness, similar to but smaller in magnitude than the thickness dependence earlier revealed for SiO2/Si.

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