Ultrahigh vacuum–scanning tunneling microscopy nanofabrication and hydrogen/deuterium desorption from silicon surfaces: implications for complementary metal oxide semiconductor technology

Abstract The development of ultrahigh vacuum–scanning tunneling microscopy (UHV–STM)-based nanofabrication capability for hydrogen passivated silicon surfaces has opened new opportunities for selective chemical processing, down to the atomic scale. The chemical contrast between clean and H-passivated Si(100) surfaces has been used to achieve nanoscale selective oxidation, nitridation, molecular functionalization, and metallization by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Further understanding of the hydrogen desorption mechanisms has been gained by extending the studies to deuterated surfaces. In these experiments, it was discovered that deuterium is nearly two orders of magnitude more difficult to desorb than hydrogen in the electronic desorption regime. This giant isotope effect provided the basis for an idea that has since led to the extension of complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) transistor lifetimes by factors of 10 or greater. Low temperature hydrogen and deuterium desorption experiments were performed to gain further insight into the underlying physical mechanisms. The desorption shows no temperature dependence in the high energy electronic desorption regime. However, in the low energy vibrational heating regime, hydrogen is over two orders of magnitude easier to desorb at 11 K than at room temperature. The enhanced desorption in the low temperature vibrational regime has enabled the quantification of a dramatic increase in the deuterium isotope effect at low voltages. These results may have direct implications for low voltage and/or low temperature scaled CMOS operation.