title: Kinetic study of H-terminated silicon nanowires oxidation in very first stages.
abstract: Oxidation of silicon nanowires (Si NWs) is an undesirable phenomenon that has a detrimental effect on their electronic properties. To prevent oxidation of Si NWs, a deeper understanding of the oxidation reaction kinetics is necessary. In the current work, we study the oxidation kinetics of hydrogen-terminated Si NWs (H-Si NWs) as the starting surfaces for molecular functionalization of Si surfaces. H-Si NWs of 85-nm average diameter were annealed at various temperatures from 50°C to 400°C, in short-time spans ranging from 5 to 60 min. At high temperatures (T ≥ 200°C), oxidation was found to be dominated by the oxide growth site formation (made up of silicon suboxides) and subsequent silicon oxide self-limitation. Si-Si backbond oxidation and Si-H surface bond propagation dominated the process at lower temperatures (T < 200°C).
authors: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light Physics department Günther-Scharowsky-St, 1, Erlangen, 91058, Germany. silke.christiansen@mpl.mpg.de.
authors: Muhammad Y
authors: MY
authors: Bashouti
authors: Kasra
authors: K
authors: Sardashti
authors: Jürgen
authors: J
authors: Ristein
authors: Silke
authors: S
authors: Christiansen