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Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 46 (2007) pp. 5701-5705  |Previous Article| |Next Article|  |Table of Contents|
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Preparation of an Ultraclean and Atomically Controlled Hydrogen-Terminated Si(111)-(1× 1) Surface Revealed by High Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy: Aqueous NH4F Etching Process of Si(111)

Hiroki Kato, Takumi Taoka, Susumu Nishikata1, Gen Sazaki1, Taro Yamada2,3, Ryszard Czajka2,4, Andrzej Wawro2,5, Kazuo Nakajima1, Atsuo Kasuya2, and Shozo Suto

Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
1Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan
2Center for Interdisciplinary Research, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8578, Japan
3The Institute of Chemical and Physical Research (RIKEN), Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan
4Institute of Physics, Faculty of Technical Physics, Poznań University of Technology, ul. Nieszawska 13A, 60-965 Poznań, Poland
5Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotników 32/46, 02-668 Warszawa, Poland

(Received January 24, 2007; revised March 26, 2007; accepted May 25, 2007; published online September 7, 2007)

We propose an improved wet chemical process for preparing a high-quality hydrogen-terminated Si(111)-(1× 1) surface and show an atomically ordered and ultraclean surface without carbon and oxygen contamination. The vibrational properties and surface morphology are investigated by high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The HREELS spectra and images of AFM and STM reveal the precise aqueous NH4F etching process of Si(111) and indicate the high controllability of steps and terraces at the atomic scale. The surface cleanliness and morphology strongly depend on the etching time. At the etching time of 10 min, we obtain an ultraclean and atomically ordered surface with wide terraces of 36±7 nm step distance. It is confirmed by AFM and STM that 1.0% ammonium sulfite is useful for removing dissolved oxygen in the 40% NH4F etching solution and for preparing a high-quality H:Si(111)-(1× 1) surface with a low density of etch pits. The onset of tunneling current and the gap of 1.39 eV are measured by scanning tunneling spectroscopy. There is no peak at -1.3 eV in comparison with the previous report [Phys. Rev. Lett. 65 (1990) 1917].

URL: http://jjap.jsap.jp/link?JJAP/46/5701/
DOI: 10.1143/JJAP.46.5701


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