Abstract of High oxidation state at the epitaxial interface of gamma-Al2O3 thin films grown on Si(111) and Si(001)
  High oxidation state at the epitaxial interface of gamma-Al2O3 thin films grown on Si(111) and Si(001)
EL KAZZI M.
, MERCKLING C., SAINT-GIRONS G., GRENET G., SILLY M., SIAUD B., HOLLINGER G., SIROTTI F.
Applied Physics Letters 97 (2010)


High resolution synchrotron radiation x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy allowed us to identify the chemical bonding at the interface between epitaxial gamma-Al2O3 and Si substrate. The experiments were performed on 1 nm thick epitaxial gamma-Al2O3 layers grown on both Si(111) and Si(001) substrates. In both cases, the Si 2p core level decomposition recorded at photon energy of 160 eV provided evidence for the absence of Si2+ and Si3+ species and the presence of two different Si4+ species. A microscopic model is proposed for the interface obtained with two incomplete SiO2 planes based on the Si 2p(3/2) line shape. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. {[}doi:10.1063/1.3499280]