Stability of ammonium fluoride‐treated Si(100)

X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and contact angle analyses have been employed to investigate the chemical stability of silicon surfaces treated by an ammonium fluoride (NH4F) solution. Consistent with earlier results [Dumas and Chabal, Chem. Phys. Lett. 181, 537 (1991)], it is found that an NH4F final etch produces surfaces exhibiting lower oxygen and carbon contamination levels in comparison to the surfaces obtained with the traditional HF or buffered HF (BHF) etch. In conjunction with lower contamination levels, surfaces treated in ammonium fluoride show higher contact angles with water, indicating lower surface free energies. The Si‐H surfaces produced by the ammonium fluoride etch were found to remain hydrophobic for weeks in air and showed no signs of oxidation for several days. After an induction period of about one week in air, oxidation began to occur in a more rapid fashion. The stability of the Si‐H surfaces in water was also investigated, and it was found that the oxygen contamination le...

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