Atomic-level study of the robustness of the Si„100...-2Ã1:H surface following exposure to ambient conditions

The in situ hydrogen-passivated Si~100!-231 surface is characterized with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ~XPS! and ultra-high-vacuum scanning tunneling microscopy ~STM! following exposure to ambient conditions. The XPS measurements illustrate the chemical inertness of this surface as the onset of oxidation is not observed for the first 40 h of ambient exposure. After 15 min of contact with atmospheric conditions, the STM images reveal that the Si~100!-231:H surface remains atomically pristine. This exceptional stability is of relevance to a wide variety of applications that require ultrapure Si~100! substrates ~e.g., microelectronics, semiconductor processing, nanofabrication, etc.!. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1348322#