Structure and energetics of the Si-SiO_2 interface

Abstract

Silicon has long been synonymous with semiconductor technology. This unique role is due largely to the remarkable properties of the Si-SiO_2 interface, especially the (001)-oriented interface used in most devices. Although Si is crystalline and the oxide is amorphous, the interface is essentially perfect, with an extremely low density of dangling bonds or other electrically active defects. With the continual decrease of device size, the nanoscale structure of the silicon/oxide interface becomes more and more important. Yet despite its essential role, the atomic structure of this interface is still unclear. Using a novel Monte Carlo approach, we identify low-energy structures for the interface. The optimal structure found consists of Si-O-Si "bridges" ordered in a stripe pattern, with very low energy. This structure explains several puzzling experimental observations.

LaTex file with 4 figures in GIF format

References in corpus (2)

• Properties of a continuous-random-network model for amorphous systems
• Structure and oxidation kinetics of the Si(100)-SiO2 interface

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• Probing lattice vibration at surface and interface of SiO${}_2$/Si with nanometer resolution
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• Physical insight into reduced surface roughness scattering in strained silicon inversion layers
• Computer Generation of Disordered Networks with Targeted Structural Properties